My Life as a Teenage Beast Hunter
by Corsair5587
Summary: Jenny returns to the world of Transformers Prime to aid the Autobots in their darkest hour since the War for Cybertron and this time, she'll bring friends. However, a new threat from Cyberton's own distant past looms on the horizon: the Predacons. Will our heroes have what it takes to become beast hunters, or will the Predacons reign supreme? Rated T for violence and mild language
1. Chapter 1

_**My Life as a Teenage Beast Hunter**_

 **Chapter 1: Friends in Need**

Smoke continued to rise from the Outpost Omega One's smoldering remains, not that it mattered to those scanning the wreckage. Megatron, Starscream, and a Vehicon squad searched for any trace of where the Autobots disappeared to in addition to any useful munitions or materiel.

"I found something!" A Vehicon drone reported. He presented his lord and master with a mighty golden hammer.

"Ah the forge of Solus Prime." Megatron observed.

Sometime later, Starscream stumbled upon the Star Saber and not too far off…

"Hold on…" Starscream pondered. The seeker spotted a hand peering out of the desert soil. "Lord Megatron, I believe I've discovered an Autobot!" he exclaimed.

"So not all of them escaped." Megatron deduced. "Can you make out which one it is?"

"No master. Not with so much of it buried." The Seeker replied.

"Shockwave," Megatron called over his comm link. "Send an excavation team to my coordinates immediately."

"On their way now my liege."

A mining drill and ten more Vehicons arrived to assist the scavenging operations. After about half an hour the combined Decepticon team managed to pull their query from the rubble.

Megatron raised his eyebrows in equal parts surprise and amusement.

"Well, look at this. Prime elected to stay behind and defend the base while his comrades fled."

Knockout produced his data pad and conducted a scan of the motionless Autobot leader. Energon slowly leaked from deep gashes all over Prime's body while his limbs lay battered and broken.

"I'm not sure how, but Optimus still functions, albeit barely." Knockout reported after he completed the scan. "He requires immediate medical attention if he is to survive."

Megatron thought for a moment. "Knockout, Starscream; take Optimus into Darkmount and connect him to life support. Once finished, interrogate him to discern where the rest of the Autobots fled to."

Starscream bowed in acknowledgement. "Yes Lord Megatron."

The Seeker joined Knockout in the Nemesis' sickbay where Optimus now resided. Energon cuffs secured the Autobot leader by the wrists and ankles to an operating table while several tubes delivered just enough Energon to keep him online. Next to the operating table lay an assortment of tools with Starscream eagerly wanted to use on the battered Prime. He turned to Knockout and asked "How shall we proceed?"

"He's not likely to consciously betray his comrades." Knockout began. "So I suggest a less crude method like the Cortical Psychic Patch."

Though Starscream agreed with Knockout's assumption, one could clearly see the disappointment on his face. "Very well." He sighed. Knockout volunteered himself to peer inside Optimus Prime's head. Alas, after an hour, he had bad news.

"I was unable to find anything useful." The medic reported. Starscream started off toward the door. "I'll inform Lord Megatron." He replied.

The _Nemesis_ and the _Harbinger_ held their positions at roughly 2,000 feet in a defensive posture near Darkmount; the recently constructed Decepticon citadel. The cybersteel fortress stuck out like a sore thumb amidst the relatively flat Nevada desert and managed to combine technology and biology by resembling a demonic pine tree of blackness. Upon Darkmount's "peak" resided Megatron's throne: an oversized cybersteel chair befitting the Decepticon leader's ego.

From his perch Megatron gazed at the world below him with equal parts scorn and contempt for the native occupants. _Humans._ He mentally spat. _I'll never understand why Optimus held these insects so dear._ Speaking of which…

Megatron hit a few keys on his throne. "Starscream, report."

"Unfortunate news Lord Megatron," Starscream reported over his comm link. "Knockout and I thoroughly interrogated Optimus Prime, but we were unable to obtain any leads on his friends' whereabouts."

Megatron scowled. "Disappointing. Starscream, keep Prime in his current position and continue to monitor this airspace. Knockout, help Soundwave reconfigure the sensor array. That is all."

Megatron began to contemplate his next move when Shockwave stepped through Darkmount's Space Bridge.

"Greetings Shockwave." Megatron greeted.

"I have developed a solution to our problem my liege." Shockwave assured.

All of a sudden, a giant black arm with a claw on one end burst through the Space Bridge vortex. Then another. A giant spike adorned reptilian head appeared next.

"Lord Megatron, I present to you the ultimate Autobot Hunter."

The sight of the great Predacon beast took Megatron aback, an expression of genuine worry on his face.

"So this is what you've been working on." The Decepticon leader realized…

 **Washington State…**

"I don't think he's coming Bulk." Miko feared. She and Bulkhead found a place to rest and wait for Wheeljack just outside Mount St. Helens National Park. "Don't worry Miko." Bulkhead comforted. "If I know Jackie, he always likes to show up at the last minute for a big entrance."

Miko lowered her head in dismay. "Come on Miko, I served with Wheeljack remember? He's come out of worse than what happened in Jasper." The Wrecker reminded.

"I guess." Miko conceded.

Bulkhead met Miko's gaze "Look Miko, I know this is difficult for you, but the last thing Optimus would want is for us to lose hope."

That seemed to cheer her up a bit. "Yeah. You're right Bulk. Moping around isn't going to help anything. Come on. If Jackie can't meet up with us, we'll just have to meet up with Jackie."

"That's the idea Miko!" Bulkhead beamed.

 **Maine…**

A custom Urbana 500 sports car made its way across Maine's east coast toward a ferry boat dock. The car had a black body with yellow stripes across the top and sides. Little did the humans in this state know, the car was actually an alien robot known as Bumblebee. "Where are we going Bumblebee?" Rafael wondered. The Autobot scout bleeped a reply. "Griffon Rock?" Raf said. "Why there?" Again Bumblebee replied with his characteristic squeaky warbling. "What people? Who?" Raf wondered with increasing fervor as Bumblebee rounded a corner. The scout gave a cheeky string of beeps. "Oh. Yeah I suppose it would be better to see for myself." Bumblebee eventually reached the ferry and boarded.

 **Kansas…**

Arcee and Jack had been traveling on the highway for quite some time since they left Jasper through the Ground Bridge. Jack had already grown bored of the vast expanse of wheat and couldn't take his mind off of Optimus and the others.

"Hey Jack, I'm gonna pull over. I need to stretch my servos." Arcee suddenly announced. "Okay, sure." Jack agreed.

Arcee found an abandoned farm house to park up next to. Jack hopped off before Arcee shifted into her bipedal form in what seemed like forever. "Ahhhh." She exhaled as she began stretching her limbs. The femme noticed Jack looking into the sunset.

"You okay partner?" she asked. Jack turned to face her. "What are we gonna do Arcee?" The cyber ninja knelt down to meet his gaze. "Survive. Meet with the others if we can. Then we take the fight to Megatron."

"But right now we're scattered to the winds." Jack argued. Then, a thought occurred to him. "Aren't there any other Autobots out there who can help us?"

Arcee lowered her head. "There were a lot of Autobots on the Ark… but like us… they were scattered to the winds…"

The two sat in silence for a moment.

"You hungry?" Arcee asked. "Yeah." Jack replied. Arcee shifted back into motorcycle form and the two made for the nearest fast food joint.

 **Terrax System**

 _Helmsbot's log supplemental: Star date 310395.29. We've managed to chase off a group of Star Seekers and have harvested more Energon than we've ever seen. We will depart shortly for a system on the edge of the Orion Spiral Arm as that is the endpoint of a massive energy beam that originated from Cybertron. The Commander seems very concerned by this, but I don't know why. End entry._

The construction surveyor turned reconnaissance flyer stirred in his seat awaiting takeoff. _Come on._ He thought. _What's taking them so long?_ He received word from his commanding officer that they would leave Terrax within the hour. That hour had nearly passed and the crew of the Enduring Spirit still found themselves spinning their wheels. (Literally in a few cases.)

But sure enough, three wheeled vehicles approached the shuttle before shifting into their robot modes. "Crosswind, is everything ready?" the commanding officer asked.

"All systems go and everyone else is aboard Commander." Crosswind replied. He could hear his commander chuckle as she boarded.

"You know you can just call me Elita." Elita One reminded for the umpteenth time. She and her two most trusted lieutenants, Fire Star and Moon Racer, had been leading this particular group of Autobots on a recon mission of the Sirius star system. They had been mining the third planet Terrax for its bounty of Energon when one day, Elita decided to leave the system after she picked up a massive energy signal from Cybertron.

"Everyone strapped in back there?" Crosswind asked. "We're ready when you are kiddo." Ironhide answered in his gruff voice. He sat in the shuttle's troop compartment along with Jazz, Hound, Prowl, Sideswipe and the Aerialbots.

Crosswind eased the throttles forward and lifted off from Terax's surface. Within ten minutes he established a stable orbit around the planet. "Transwarp coordinates locked in Commander." He reported.

"Engage." The femme replied.

Crosswind activated the Transwarp drive. The shuttle disappeared in a brilliant flash, bound for a blue green world orbiting a yellow sun…

 **Meanwhile near an asteroid in deep space…**

Cyclonus waited patiently for Scourge's report to come in. "I confirm that energy spike Cyclonus. The coordinates place its origin at Cybertron and its destination at a small planet on the edge of this spiral arm."

The former deserter hunter smiled. "Very good Scourge. Assemble the rest of our force and prepare to depart." He ordered.

"Yes sir." Scourge replied. The tracker dialed another frequency. "Motormaster, this is Scourge."

"Motormaster here," a deep Brooklyn sounding voice answered. "Whadya want?"

"Get your team to the ship. We're leaving soon." Scourge answered.

"'Bout time we got off this rock!" Motormaster exclaimed. "Hey Dragstrip, Dead End, Wildrider, Off Road, Blackjack get your sorry chassis to the ship!"

The Stunticons rushed into the strike shuttle without delay.

 **A/N:** Oh yes. It's back. S**t's about to go down son. Seriously though, longtime Transformers fans will know what's coming. I'll update this as often as I can but consider me back in business after nearly 3 years. And don't worry, I'll get to Jenny's side of things next time. On a side note, Crosswind is an OC and picture him having Johnny Yong Bosch's voice. I'd want Elita to be voiced by Estelle. Moonracer has Ashleigh Ball's voice. Fire Star has Grey Delisle's voice. I'll get to the others in future chapters. Until next time, thanks for reading.


	2. Chapter 2

_**My Life as a Teenage Beast Hunter**_

 **Chapter 2: Battle Plans**

In less time than the blink of an eye, the _Enduring Spirit_ materialized in a high polar orbit over the planet Earth. The Autobots on the bridge could hardly believe their optics at the sight that greeted them through the main viewport. Deep blue oceans and green continents seemed to comprise the surface topography and what seemed like wispy clouds blanketed the atmosphere.

Crosswind checked his displays. "No Transwarp anomalies, all crew accounted for, and the cloaking shield is still functioning." He observed.

"Begin scanning." Elita One ordered in her soft yet firm voice. Crosswind found himself only able to nod and punch in the proper key sequence for planet wide scanning.

"Results coming in…" Crosswind announced. "Atmosphere is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, and the rest are trace elements."

Elita One stroked her chin thoughtfully. "What else?"

"Scans are also showing a naturally occurring magnetic field, several artificial satellites and radio signals. Life sign scans show… huh?" Crosswind abruptly stopped, clearly puzzled by his monitor's readings.

"What is it fly boy?" Moonracer teased.

Ignoring her, Crosswind relayed the scan's findings.

"According to the life sign scans, this world's life forms are all carbon based." He reported.

Moonracer and Firestar sat in stunned silence while Elita One seemed only partially fazed.

"Any Cybertronian life signs or technology?" Elita One inquired. Crosswind thought he heard Elita's voice waver a bit when she asked that question.

"That's a negative, Commander." Crosswind replied. "I am detecting several Energon deposits though."

Elita leaned back and clutched her forehead in mild frustration.

"Well if there's more Energon to harvest then I guess it was worth the trip." Firestar reasoned in an attempt to console Elita.

"Crosswind…" the femme leader began. "Is there anything else?"

The helmsbot tapped a few more keys on his console. "Yes actually. This planet has its own form of Datanet. The indigenous beings refer to it as the World Wide Web."

Elita snapped to attention at that. "Can you access it?"

"Already have." Crosswind reported. "I've just downloaded this world's languages into our translation matrix. Also, you might find this interesting."

Crosswind put a duplicate of his monitor onto the main viewport. He had accessed what appeared to be a page for an information relaying organization. The headline read:

MYSTERIOUS STRUCTURE APPEARS IN JASPER, NV

Below the headline resided a low resolution photo of said structure. Elita's optics widened upon recognizing the tower therein.

"Enhance." She ordered despite knowing full well what the improved image would look like.

Crosswind ran the enhancement program.

Now Firestar and Moonracer stood in horror. "No way." The former gasped. "That looks just like Kaon!" the later exclaimed.

All four Autobots also took note of the two warships flanking the tower.

"What do you want to do Commander?" Crosswind wondered.

Elita tapped her finger on her arm rest before suddenly standing up. "Come on. We're going to tell the others what we've learned and form a strategy for what to do next."

The _Enduring Spirit's_ crew convened in the main conference room to discuss their next actions. The square room had a circular table with enough chairs for each crew member and a video screen on a wall to the table's right. Elita One sat at one end of the circle with her lieutenants on either side. Crosswind sat next to Moonracer. Both Elita and Crosswind explained the situation to everyone once they had taken seats.

Naturally, Sideswipe voiced his opinion the instant the two finished speaking. "I say we quit fooling around in orbit and take the fight straight to those Deciptifools before they know what hit them!"

This outburst only earned the impulsive former racer face palms, some eye rolls, and one or two exasperated sighs.

"Sideswipe, were you paying attention?" Crosswind groaned. "The Decepticons have a fully staffed Citadel and two cruisers. Furthermore I calculate an 82.3% likelihood that Megatron is commanding this force."

"I'm with Wind on this one." Ironhide concurred in his grizzly voice. "Much as I'd like to roll some more Cons' heads, I know enough not to rush into a scuffle. At least not without a plan."

"Thanks Ironhide." Crosswind replied.

"Ironhide and Crosswind are right. We can't just go in guns blazing. We need a sound and clear strategy if we're to take down that Citadel." Elita One insisted.

"You mean like the time you used Air Raid and I as bait and saw my life flash before my optics?" Slingshot quipped.

"Slingshot…" Silverbolt warned.

"Elita might just decide to use you as bait again if you don't can it tinhead!" Moonracer spat.

"Enough! Both of you!" Elita declared in her soft but firm voice that always seemed to disarm those around her.

This time Prowl spoke up. "If we're going down there, we need to maintain the element of surprise. Getting discovered by the Decepticons at this early stage would limit our options to fighting a battle we can't win or simply running away."

Elita rose from her chair and started to walk around the table. "I agree Prowl." She began. "First, we'll send our alt mode scanner probes to find appropriate vehicle disguises. After that, we need to comb the planet for any Autobots and join up with them as secretly as possible. From there, the Aerialbots will distract the Decepticons while the rest of us infiltrate the Citadel and take it down from the inside. Do any of you have any questions or thoughts on this plan?"

"Optimus said that this was the planet he would take his team, but how do we know they made it?" Hound wondered.

Elita One took a deep breath. "Because Alpha Trion told me." She revealed. No one spoke for a few long moments.

"H-how is that even possible?" Prowl wondered in awe.

"It's a long story." Elita replied. "The short version is that he saved my life back on Cybertron and I now share a telepathic link with him. The point is that Optimus and his team are here. Now it's our job to help them."

Needless to say, the entirety of the Autobots gathered knew about Elita's… history with Optimus-er- Orion Pax rather.

"Hehe. Now I understand why you had us high tail it over here so quickly." Moonracer chuckled.

The femme leader gave her lieutenant a warning look before turning to the rest of her crew.

"Are there any other questions?"

"I got one." Ironhide began. "How do you plan on getting inside the Citadel?"

Elita didn't miss a beat. "We can use our excavators to tunnel in from below. That should keep us hidden long enough to get in."

No one had any further questions, so Elita enacted the first phase in her plan…

 **Nellis Air Force Base, Unit E Hangar…**

Following Darkmount's sudden appearance, Nevada's governor declared a state of emergency and had the city of Jasper evacuated to Nellis Air Force Base. Agent Fowler had overseen the evacuation personally, urging the scared and confused citizens to remain calm as he shepherded them into the installation.

When Fowler returned to his office, he found himself grappling with a far more difficult task…

"I understand that the Pentagon wants to retaliate." An exasperated Agent Fowler began. "But what they need to understand is that they won't stand a snowball's chance against the Con's defenses. Furthermore, they'll likely suffer severe casualties in the inevitable counter attack."

General Bryce took a sigh of his own. "Look Will. I know you're our expert in this matter and I trust you, but SECDEF (The Secretary of Defense) wants us to act immediately. She even got the President to agree with her, however reluctantly."

Fowler remembered Secretary Canton all too well from his first encounter with her. "Then tell her that unless she wants a lot of good young men and women to die for nothing, she should be patient and keep the focus on preventing any unnecessary casualties."

A long pause followed. "Okay Will. I can't speak for SECDEF though." General Bryce replied.

Agent Fowler sat back down in his chair. "Thanks anyway General. Fowler out." He said before hanging up the phone.

The middle aged government agent slumped back into his chair and covered his face with both hands. _How could it have come to this?_ He thought.

Before Agent Fowler could get too wrapped up in his misgivings, a soldier knocked on his door.

"Come in." Fowler answered lazily.

The soldier entered the room carrying a glass that contained a carbonated concoction designed to fight headaches. "Your aspirin sir." The young private announced.

Fowler took the glass off of the soldier's hands. "Thank you Private Greene."

"There's one other thing sir." Private Greene continued as Fowler began to drink. "There's a woman named June Darby here and…"

Fowler's eyes widened and he nearly choked on his aspirin before Private Greene could finish.

"Are you okay sir?" Private Greene wondered.

Fowler took a couple of deep breaths. "Fine thank you. Send Nurse Darby in." he requested.

Private Greene gave a salute and a "Yes sir." Before leaving to do as Fowler asked.

Nurse Darby walked in by the time Fowler downed the last of his aspirin. He stood up from his desk and walked over to her. At this point Fowler had just noticed the angry glare that the concerned mother directed at him.

"June!" he greeted perhaps a bit too enthusiastically. "You have no idea how relieved I was to…"

"Cut the crap Will." She interjected. "Where the Hell is my son?!"

Agent Fowler decided he'd better choose his next words very carefully. "I know you're worried about Jack and you have every right to be angry with me, but I'm certain that…"

"He's alive?" Nurse Darby interrupted again. "How can you possibly know that if you can't even tell me where on this Earth he is?!" She'd started shaking and tears began to form in her eyes.

"June… listen…" Fowler began. "The reason I know your son is safe is because Prime made his safety and the safety of all humans priority number one."

She considered that for a minute and decided to let Agent Fowler continue.

"If I know Prime like I think I do, he made sure to get Jack, Raf, and Miko out of that base first."

Nurse Darby turned to leave the room. "Sorry for bothering you agent Fowler. It's just…" she began. "I lost my husband. To lose Jack would be…"

"I know." Agent Fowler assured. "You'll see him again June. I promise."

 **Darkmount…**

Megatron decided to take care of something that he realized he'd been putting off. It's not like he'd wanted to though. The simple fact is that he felt the need to supervise the excavation efforts and remain aware for any sign of the Autobots. Seeing as no word had come in either way for quite some time however, Megatron chose this time to take care of the errand.

The dark lord made his way to the holding cell occupied by Optimus Prime. As Megatron stepped into the room he got his first good look at the damage done to his longtime nemesis. He let out a soft chuckle. "Well well. It looks like your selfless nature has finally caught up with you Optimus."

With effort, Optimus opened his optics. "Megatron… why… haven't… you… arrgh…"

"You raise a good point Optimus." Megatron interrupted. "In your current position it would be quite easy to destroy you right here and now."

"Then… do… it." Optimus dared.

"Oh make no mistake, you will perish. But you will do so only after I destroy everything you hold most dear. And I will make you watch." Megatron vowed. The Decepticon leader then grabbed Optimus by the chin. "Then and only then, when you have lost everything, will I grant you the mercy of destruction."

With that, Megatron turned and left the room.

 **Tremorton…**

Jenny dodged an incoming punch by ducking and immediately swung her leg out to knock her opponent onto the floor. The opponent in question wore a red mechanical suit with black accents on the elbows, knees, hands, feet, and on the helmet's sides.

The armor clad figure blasted into the air to evade Jenny's low kick and fired a volley of missiles for good measure.

 _Huh._ Jenny thought. _Not bad…_

Nonetheless Jenny easily blocked the incoming ordinance with her plasma shield before rising into the air with her own thrusters.

Seeing this, the mechanized assailant attacked with his rapid fire blaster cannon. Jenny skillfully and gracefully weaved through the hail of plasma bolts until she closed the distance to melee range once again.

Rather than try to block any of Jenny's punches, the crimson figure bobbed and weaved out of the way, search for any opening. He found no such opening and attempted once again to put some distance between himself and his opponent. He lit his afterburners and took fresh aim after reaching what he perceived was a safe distance.

He fired another missile volley and backed it up with his blaster cannon. Jenny evaded the missiles but took a few blaster bolts.

 _He's getting better._ She thought.

The young heroine closed to melee range once more. This time however, her opponent decided to stick around. Both fighters bobbed, weaved, blocked, checked, and struck with speed faster than the human eye.

Jenny noticed a left hook aimed at the side of her head and immediately knocked her opponent's fist away. She followed up with a powerful swipe to the red clad helmet. This sent him twirling around. Jenny then took the opportunity to deliver a swift kick to the back of her opponent's leg, forcing him onto one knee.

Not giving in so easily, the crimson warrior suddenly swung out his other leg and took Jenny's feet out from under her. Even he was stunned by his success, but not for long. He produced a pair of claws from his forearm and struck downward at Jenny.

She deployed her energy sword just in time to block the attack and pushed her opponent away before regaining her footing. Jenny quickly forced her opponent onto the defensive, continually driving him back.

Eventually, Jenny's attacks became too much for her opponent to keep up with. She knocked the opposing claws away and forced her opponent to the ground with her sword at his neck. Her opponent then retracted his weapon and held his hands up in surrender.

"Alright Mel, I think he's had enough." Jenny quipped.

"Yeah it sure looks like it." Melody agreed. "Okay I'm ending the simulation."

All three of them plus Sheldon were in Nora Wakeman's virtual combat training room. Jenny and Brad lay on two beds and connected to the simulator via virtual reality helmets. Melody typed the "wake up" commands into a console nearby.

The helmets slid off of the couple's heads and retracted back into their stowage compartments. Jenny looked over at Brad. "You did better that time, but you're still relying too heavily on your ranged weapons." She said in a lecturing tone.

Brad rolled his eyes. "Oh give me a break." He groaned. "These past few weeks have made me ask how someone could be so crazy to want a fight with you."

"Hey look at the bright side. You managed to knock me off my feet this time. That's no mean trick." Jenny praised while putting her hand on Brad's shoulder.

"Hey Jen. Even though that was all virtual, I think I've got an ache somewhere." Brad said in a transparently teasing voice.

"You need me to kiss it?" Jenny replied all too happy to play along. The two embraced and shared a short kiss.

"Better?" Jenny asked.

"Much." Brad replied after a short pause.

Just then, Nora strode into the room covered in grease stains. "XJ9, I have good news: I've finished the modifications to the portal."

With speed too comical to describe, Jenny rushed over to her mother and embraced her tightly. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she exclaimed.

"Hold up there Jen." Sheldon interjected. "Before you go rushing off to the Autobots, you need a plan. And… um… perhaps some backup."

Jenny turned his back to him. "Your opinion is noted." She replied coldly.

"Sheldon is correct." Nora concurred. "To return to that dimension alone would be unacceptably reckless."

The young heroine gave a sigh. "You're right. I'd better not get ahead of myself." She thought for a moment before choosing who to bring with her.

"Brad, you've been doing great with the Cardinal suit so you can come." Jenny decided.

"Yes!" Brad exclaimed as he pumped his fist.

"Sheldon…" Jenny began. "I presume you've built a new Silver Shell suit?"

"Yeah," Sheldon replied. "I made it compatible with Energon too."

"Your skills might come in handy as well." Jenny considered. "Alright you can come along too."

Jenny turned to Melody. "Mel... I hate to ask this of you but, one of us needs to stay here and protect Tremorton. Are you alright with that?"

"I'm glad that you trust me that much, so yes. I'll hold the fort here." Melody answered.

Jenny let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. I owe you for this."

"Right then, let's come up with a plan." Dr. Wakeman said.

After Jenny briefed Brad and Sheldon on whom and what they would face, everyone gathered agreed that the best course of action would be to bridge the three to the opposite side of the world relative to the Decepticons. From there, the three would traverse the globe looking for the Autobots and a suitable base of operations to launch a counter attack.

"Remember, your Energon supplies will be limited and if you activate them within range of the Decepticons they will detect you." Dr. Wakeman warned.

"Limit all communication to the encrypted line as well." Jenny added.

"One more thing. I only have enough Energon for one round trip so if you want to go back after this, we'll have to receive another supply."

"Right." Jenny acknowledged.

Since no one had any further questions, Jenny addressed her team. "Are you two all set?"

"I think Tuck would want to see us off." Brad replied.

They waited for Brad's little brother to enter the room. "Why can't I go?" he complained.

"It just isn't safe enough right now." Jenny explained. "Don't worry though. Once our job is done I'll introduce you to the Autobots personally." That seemed to satisfy Tuck enough.

"Good luck Brad." Tuck said. "Thanks Tuck." Brad replied.

With that, Nora locked in the coordinates and activated the Trans-Dimensional Bridge. The trademark swirling vortex appeared in the arch, providing the pathway to the heroes' destination. The three stepped through, eager to face whatever awaited them on the other side…

 **A/N:**

My sincerest apologies for how long this took. From here on I'll do my best to update every week and let you guys know if I won't be able to. Thanks again for your support.


	3. Chapter 3

_**My Life as a Teenage Beast Hunter**_

 **Chapter 3: Laying Low**

Bumblebee pulled up to the Rescue Bot headquarters and opened his passenger side door to let Raf out. After Raf got out, Bumblebee shifted into his robot mode.

"Bee, what are you doing?!" Raf exclaimed.

Bee assured Raf that the people of Griffin Rock wouldn't be phased by his bipedal appearance. Once Raf had calmed down, Bee activated his comm link and announced his presence.

With that, the doors to the building opened and the two visitors were greeted by the Burns family and the Rescue Bots.

"Bumblebee!" a young boy with blonde hair exclaimed.

"Hey Bee, who's your friend?" a young man with glasses asked.

"I'm Raf." The boy introduced. "Bee is my guardian."

"Nice to meet you, Raf." Chief Burns explained. "I'm chief Burns. This is my daughter Dani, my sons, Cody, Graham, and Kade."

Each of the Burns children waved as they were introduced.

"And these are the Rescue Bots." Chief Burns continued.

A red bot who looked like a firefighter stepped forward. "Name's Heatwave."

Next, a Blue and white police looking bot introduced himself in very clipped and precise English. "I am Chase. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"I'm Boulder. It's nice to meet you." A large green construction bot greeted.

Last but certainly not least, an orange and white bot introduced himself. "I'm Blades."

With the introductions over, Chief Burns got to the Heart of the matter. "So Bee, what brings you and your partner here?"

"And where's Optimus?" Cody wondered.

Bee seemed to give a sigh and rubbed the back of his head with his hand. He then explained to the Burns family and the Rescue Bots what happened.

"The Decepticons discovered your base and attacked?!" Cody exclaimed.

Bee continued with the fact that Optimus elected to stay behind and make sure no one could follow.

"But you've heard from him and the other members of your team right?" Dani hoped.

Bumblebee shook his head.

"If I know Optimus, he's still functional." Heatwave reasoned.

Chief Burns stroked his chin. "So the reason you're here is because you need a place to stay until you can meet up with the rest of your team." He deduced.

Bumblebee nodded.

"Hmm…" Chief Burns said as he thought.

"Dad, come on! If we let Bee stay here, we'd be putting ourselves at risk." Kade argued.

"He has nowhere else to go, Kade." Dani argued back. "Besides, what about Raf?"

"Dani's right." Heatwave agreed. "We Autobots stick together no matter what." The other Rescue Bots nodded in agreement.

"Graham?" Chief Burns asked. "It is risky, but I think it's the right thing to do."

"Me too Dad." Cody agreed.

"It's settled then." Chief Burns decided. "Bumblebee, Raf, make yourselves at home."

 **Earth Orbit…**

The vehicle mode scanners Crosswind had deployed returned to the _Enduring Spirit_ right on schedule. And while waiting for them, he discovered an Autobot life sign after tweaking the sensors a bit. The Helmsbot announced this over the ship-wide comm.

"Come on Hound," Ironhide said as he playfully elbowed the scout. "Let's go change into something more comfortable."

Ironhide decided on a GMC Sierra 1500. Hound picked a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Sideswipe chose a Lamborghini Diablo. Jazz selected a Porsche 911 Carrera. Prowl assumed the form of a Nissan 350Z with police mods. Crosswind chose an F-18F Super Hornet. Silverbolt selected a B-1B Lancer. Skydive picked an F-16C Falcon. Slingshot decided on an AV-8B Harrier. Air Raid selected the F-15C Eagle. Fireflight chose the F-4E Phantom. Moonracer and Firestar decided on custom Suzuki motorcycles and Elita One chose a McLaren 650s sports car.

With everyone's vehicle modes in order, the time came to head for the surface. "Alright Crosswind, take us to the Autobot signal." Elita One ordered.

"Commander, if a may make a suggestion?" Crosswind replied. Eita gave a nod. "Taking the whole ship and all of us down at this stage is very risky. We may need to get out of here quickly."

Elita stroked her chin. "What do you suggest then?"

"I'll go down to the surface myself to see if the Autobot signature is indeed genuine. Once I determine that, I'll signal the rest of you to meet up with us."

"Very well Crosswind. Good luck." Elita bode farewell. "Sideswipe, take the helm and keep your optics peeled."

With that, Crosswind made haste for a set of coordinates in the heart of the continental United States…

 **Meanwhile in Jasper…**

"Lord Megatron, proximity alert!" a Vehicon reported.

Megatron walked over to the Vehicon's station. "Go on."

"Contact is on a heading toward Darkmount. Speed is Mach 0.65. Distance is 100 miles. " The Vehicon replied.

"Prepare the Fusion Cannon." Megatron ordered.

Just then, the message ping sounded. "Sir, the craft is hailing us."

"On screen." said Megatron.

Cyclonus' face appeared on the main monitor. "Lord Megatron I presume." He greeted.

"Cyclonus." Megatron greeted. "What an unexpected yet welcome surprise."

"I request permission to land at your base." Cyclonus said.

"Permission granted. Land on the main flight deck. I will meet you there." Megatron instructed.

"Very good." Cyclonus replied before switching the comm link off.

Cyclonus set the strike shuttle down smoothly on the flight deck and deployed the gang plank.

Megatron waited outside as the Decepticons aboard disembarked. He allowed himself a grin as Cyclonus, Scourge, and the Stunticons stepped down the gangplank.

"Welcome everyone!" Megatron greeted.

"The honor is all ours Lord Megatron." Cyclonus replied. "We are prepared to serve you in any way necessary."

"Good." Megatron replied. "Scourge, meet with Shockwave in his lab. The rest of you follow me."

When Scourge arrived at Shockwave's lab he was taken aback by the enormous Predacon Dragon before him. "What in Unicron's name is that thing?!" the tracker asked.

"That," Shockwave began, "is a Predacon tasked with hunting down the Autobots. However, seeing as I am preoccupied with adding more Predacons to our ranks I will not be able to domesticate him."

"So you want me to do it?" Scourge concluded.

"Precisely." Shockwave confirmed. "Given your background it was logical to give you this task."

 _What have I gotten myself into?_ Scourge wondered as he racked his processor trying to figure out how to tame such a beast.

 **The Other Side of the World…**

Jenny, Cardinal (Brad), and the Silver Shell blasted out of the Dimension Bridge vortex over New Delhi, India. Thankfully the cloud cover masked their entrance. The three heroes then set their course for a city on the eastern coast of Florida…

 **A/N:**

I apologize again for my lateness. Hopefully I'll have more time to write now that summer is here.

With that out of the way I'd like to finish listing the characters' voice actors.

Ironhide: John Goodman

Prowl: Peter Weller

Jazz: Khary Payton

Hound: James Arnold Taylor

Sideswipe: Darren Chris

Silverbolt: Anthony Edwards

Skydive: Tom Cruise

Slingshot: John Stockwell

Air Raid: Val Kilmer

Fireflight: Tom Skerritt

Motor Master: Jim Cummings

Off Road: John DiMaggio

Drag Strip: Richard Hammond

Dead End: Dee Bradley Baker

Wild Rider: Troy Baker

Cyclonus: Corey Burton (his Count Dooku Voice)

Scourge: Kevin Conroy


	4. Chapter 4

_**My Life as a Teenage Beast Hunter**_

 **Chapter 4: Contact**

After an uneventful atmospheric entry, Crosswind reduced his airspeed to the normal cruising speed of an F-18. He made sure to research everything about his new alt mode's flight characteristics before he departed from the _Enduring Spirit._ Just to be safe, he activated his Jammers to conceal himself from the indigenous population's tracking systems. From what he'd read about the planet's history, Crosswind concluded that the locals would take exception to an errant aircraft traipsing through their airspace and react violently.

Able to concentrate on his primary task, Crosswind zeroed in on the Autobot signal that appeared on his scanners.

The signal was moving at roughly 70 miles per hour down an old highway. Crosswind zoomed in to get a better look and realized who he was following. _Arcee._

"Crosswind to _Enduring Spirit_ : It's Arcee. I've found Arcee." Crosswind announced.

Elita One smiled. "Very good. You may land and introduce yourself. We'll be along shortly."

"Yes Commander." Crosswind replied as he started his descent.

Eventually, Jack picked up the sound of jet engines. "Arcee, do you hear that?" Jack wondered. "Yeah." The femme answered. "Look around. The Cons might have found us."

Jack turned his head around and saw the source of the jet noise. "Uh Arcee, there's a jet behind us, and it's getting real low." Jack observed with much apprehension.

Knowing her inability to outrun a jet, Arcee slammed on her breaks and told Jack to disembark. She then shifted into robot mode and fired several shots from her arm cannon.

Despite being caught off guard, Crosswind dodged all of the Energon blasts and dove for the deck before shifting into his own robot mode.

"Whoa, whoa!" he yelled as he touched down. "Hold your fire!"

"Why should I show mercy to you Con?" Arcee spat.

Jack noticed that the new arrival looked very offended by what Arcee had just said.

"Believe me Arcee, I never was and never will be a Decepticon. Look." He said pointing to the Autobot insignia on his wing.

"How do I know you're telling the truth? And how do you know who I am?" Arcee demanded with her blaster still pointed at Crosswind's head.

"As to your first question, I'm here under orders from Elita One. As to your second, you're a legend among the Autobots." Crosswind replied in a matter of fact tone.

 _Elita One?!_ Arcee thought.

"Oh. Sorry." Arcee apologized as she retracted her cannon. "Jetfire's the only other Autobot flyer I've seen while on this planet."

Crosswind's optics widened. "Jetfire's _here?!_ " he exclaimed at the mention of one of his idols.

"Uh-huh." Arcee confirmed. "By the way, I still don't know your name."

"Right. I'm Crosswind. Helmsbot and Recon specialist aboard the _Enduring Spirit._ " The young Autobot introduced.

Arcee motioned to her human companion. "This is my partner, Jack."

"Hello." The human said as he waved.

"How did you find this planet anyway?" Arcee asked.

"We followed the path of a massive energy surge originating from Cybertron." Crosswind explained. "We also know that the Decepticons have constructed a massive citadel out west. By the way, who are the other Autobots on this planet?"

"Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Ratchet, Optimus Prime, and Wheeljack." Arcee answered.

"Excellent. With their help we should be able to defeat the Decepticons once and for all." Crosswind concluded.

"That reminds me," Arcee began. "You said you were following Elita One's orders. Where is she now?"

As if to answer her question, the _Enduring Spirit_ gracefully swooped down and landed near the two Autobots and their human companion. The main ramp extended down allowing the crew to disembark.

Elita One stepped down first, flanked as always by Firestar and Moonracer. Next came Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl, Hound, and Sideswipe. Last but certainly not least came the Aeiralbots.

"Wow." Jack gasped. "Now that's what I call reinforcements."

 **Meanwhile…**

 _I hope Starscream rusts in pieces._ Wheeljack huffed internally. During the battle outside the Autobot base, the seeker inflicted some damage on Wheeljack's ship, the _Jackhammer._ Being the pragmatic bot that he was, Wheeljack decided to withdraw with minor damage rather than risk destruction at the hands of that stiletto heeled creep.

What Wheeljack didn't know, however, was that the perceived minor damage would eventually snowball until the _Jack Hammer_ stalled and plummeted out of the sky. The Wrecker did everything he could to restart the engines but to no avail. All Wheeljack could do was brace for the inevitable impact with terra firma. The small ship crashed in a scarcely populated desert in northern Nevada. The concussive force left the Wrecker unconscious for quite some time.

Wheeljack eventually came to and noticed that his legs were pinned under the collapsed control column. One of his arms had also been cut by a jagged piece of the _Jackhammer._

Wheeljack eventually cut himself loose with his good arm and treated his wounds with the onboard medical kit. With that done, the Wrecker then salvaged anything he could from the wrecked ship; grenades, tools, even his trusty detonator. Finally, he gave the wreckage an affectionate tap, shifted into his vehicle mode and set off to rendezvous with Bulkhead.

Wheeljack been driving for couple of days through Oregon and eventually into Washington _without incident when he came across the rendezvous point he and Bulkhead agreed upon in_ case things ever went south. _And yet again I hate that I was right._ Wheeljack mused to himself.

Bulkhead and Miko heard Wheeljack's engine as he approached. The sleek white supercar ramped off of a bump in the ground and landed right next to Bulkhead.

"Jackie!" Bulkhead exclaimed. "You made it!" Both Wreckers shifted into robot mode. Bulkhead then proceeded to wrap Wheeljack in a bear hug.

"Nice to see you again you big lug nut." Wheeljack greeted. "Sorry I took so long. I had to drive here."

Miko, who had been sitting on a stump nearby, crossed her arms. "Meh, I wasn't worried. Bulk over here was a nervous wreck."

"Don't listen to her Jackie, she thought you weren't gonna make it." Bulkhead countered as he put Wheeljack down.

"Is that so?" Wheeljack asked feigning insult.

"Okay, maybe I was a little concerned for your wellbeing." Miko defended.

The three then shared a hearty laugh…

 **Back in the Nevada Desert…**

Scourge and the Predacon Dragon located what was left of the Jackhammer and investigated the remains.

"This was Wheeljack's ship." Scourge realized aloud. "And it looks like he was injured in the crash." He said after eyeing an Energon stained and jagged piece of the hull.

The infamous tracker took a sample and held it toward the Predacon dragon's nose. The great beast immediately took off in Wheeljack's direction upon smelling the blue substance.

"Lord Megatron, the Predacon and I have picked up the trail of the Autobot known as Wheeljack." Scourge reported.

Megatron grinned. "Good work. Perhaps he can lead us to the others…"

 **Just outside Titusville…**

Jenny, Sheldon and Brad landed in a relatively unobserved plot of land in central Florida. "Alright, it shouldn't be far from here." Jenny said. "But first things first. Sheldon?"

Several arms holding what looked like comically oversized spray cans coated Jenny in various hues of specialized paint to change her appearance. Her hair turned ginger and her skin changed from milk white to Caucasian. The paint changed her clothes' colors too. Bright red for the tank top, black for the skirt and a mauve color for the boots.

After he finished the paint job, Sheldon opened a small compartment on his armor's leg to reveal a mauve light jacket that lacked buttons or a zipper (I'm not sure if there's a specific name for this so please let me know.) Jenny put on the jacket before removing her hair ties and sticking them in one of the jacket's pockets.

Sheldon produced a mirror for Jenny to check his work. "I have to admit, that's not half bad Sheldon. What do you think Brad?"

"I dunno…" he began. "I kinda like the way you looked before."

Jenny smiled at her boyfriend's honesty. "Well this way I can walk around in public. And at least it's not the Exoskin."

Brad shuddered at the mere mention of that monstrosity.

"Right then, get into your civvies boys." Jenny commanded.

Brad's Cardinal armor folded up into a pretty convincing backpack and the silver shell armor did the same.

With that the three set off for the coordinates that Jenny had seen on Ratchet's monitor. After an hour's walk, they reached their destination: The Tico Warbird Air Museum. "Are you sure this is the right place?" Brad asked.

"Absolutely." Jenny replied. "Jetfire's in there all right. The tricky part will be getting him out."

"Why did he have to pick such a public place to hide?" Sheldon groaned.

"Guess he wanted to hide in _plane_ sight." Brad joked.

Sheldon face palmed and shook his head.

"And that's one of the reasons I love you." Jenny sighed. "But enough joking, let's get in there and find our Autobot."

The three paid for admission at the front desk and entered a large warehouse sized room filled with every manner of military aircraft imaginable. Jenny wasn't very impressed.

"Ugh. They charge all that just to see a bunch of planes gathering dust?" the robot girl scoffed.

"I imagine it's not cheap air-conditioning this place." Sheldon guessed.

"Whatever. Let's split up and find this guy." Brad suggested.

"Okay." Sheldon agreed.

"Remember, we're looking for an F-14D Super Tomcat." Jenny reminded. "Call if you find him."

The three split off and combed different sections of the museum. Sheldon became distracted very quickly seeing as he was surrounded by all sorts of cool aircraft. The museum contained a vast collection including examples from both World Wars, Vietnam, Korea, and even some from the Gulf War. What made things difficult though is that the planes weren't organized in any meaningful way.

One of the museum employees noticed that Jenny seemed to be looking for something. "Excuse me young lady, can I help you?" he asked. The man appeared to be in his late forties and wore blue oil stained coveralls.

"Yeah, I was wondering where you keep the F-14." Jenny answered.

"You must be talking about the Super Tomcat that just came in. Right this way. Name's Frank." He said as he motioned for Jenny to follow him. "I'm Jenny." She introduced as she started after him.

"I don't mean to be rude, Jenny, but you don't look like the type of person that visits places like this." Frank observed.

"Normally I wouldn't, but I'm here with my boyfriend. He's really into this sort of stuff." Jenny explained.

"You two must be in a pretty serious relationship if you were willing to tag along with him." Frank teased.

Jenny blushed a bit and sheepishly rubbed the back of her head. "We aren't that serious yet. I mean- we are serious but not too serious. Just the right amount of serious. If that makes sense…" Jenny stammered. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Okay, okay." Frank chuckled. "Sorry for making you uncomfortable."

As Jenny and Frank walked along she realized that the museum's main showroom was one giant hangar and that direction they were traveling lead to one of the hangar's doors. _I started on the far left of the showroom and we've been walking for a good bit now too._ Jenny thought. _If Jetfire is anywhere near that hangar door, we might just be able to bust him out without much fuss._

"Well, here it is." Frank announced.

Sure enough, before the two sat a mostly white F-14D Super Tomcat… with black tailfins adorned by Jolly Rogers and black accents for the wings and fuselage. _Jetfire doesn't look like that. Unless…_

"So, what do you think?" Frank asked eagerly.

"I'm sure my boyfriend could give you a better opinion than mine. I was just trying to find it for him." Jenny replied gingerly. "Speaking of which."

Jenny held her hand up to her ear as if she was holding a phone and dialed Brad's number. Luckily the long red hair she now sported acted as a decent enough cover. Jenny explained that she had found the Tomcat and gave Brad instructions on where to meet her.

"There." The robot-girl-in-disguise said after hanging up. "He should be along any second."

Sure enough, Brad found the two and whistled at the sight of the old warbird. "Whoa. A real F-14D Super Tomcat. It's so much cooler up close."

"Isn't it though?" Frank agreed. "I used to fly these back when I was in the Navy." He said before introducing himself.

 _Coincidence much?_ Jenny thought. "You don't say." Brad unknowingly echoed.

"Yup." Frank affirmed. "Unfortunately Uncle Sam ordered almost all of them retired and either put in museums or stripped for parts."

Jenny nodded absently, still wondering whether this could in fact be Jetfire.

"Listen close, because what I'm about to tell you might sound crazy." Frank began in a low voice. That caught both teens' attentions. "Apparently this example is one of the few airworthy Tomcat's still in existence."

"How do you know that?" Brad wondered.

"Because most of the aircraft we get nowadays have had their engine components stripped out." Frank explained. "The curator told me that this Tomcat was flown in here. And the weird part is that an Australian flew it in."

Jenny's eyes widened at that revelation. "An Australian?" she gasped.

"I was just as shocked as you. Though I guess he could have been born in Australia and moved to the states at some point." Frank supposed. "Anyway, the really weird part is that he parked the plane and left without greeting anyone. Not even the curator. Naturally we made a thorough check of the plane to make sure there wasn't anything harmful on it."

"Naturally." Brad said absently as he too started putting the puzzle together.

"We didn't find anything dangerous so we rolled it into the showroom and called it a day. Since the plane was still in working order we figured we'd add it to our airshow lineup" Frank continued. "But one morning while I was inspecting the front landing gear, I found something… odd."

Frank then pulled out a flashlight from one of his pockets and shined it into the aforementioned area, motioning for the two teens to have a look. What Frank had discovered was an Autobot Emblem.

Jenny and Brad gave each other a look that said "It's him."

Frank turned off the flashlight and stood back up. "After failing to scrub the thing off, I asked around and was told that it was an inside joke between the technicians and the pilots. Personally I think Uncle Sam knows something I don't."

Jenny and Brad simply stood in stunned silence.

"Well, I've bothered you two lovebirds enough. Nice meeting you." Frank said as he walked away.

Brad called Sheldon over and told him everything. "So you think it's really him?" Sheldon inquired.

"It has to be." Jenny answered firmly.

"He must have adopted a new paint job before coming here and sent all of the necessary paperwork via the Internet." Sheldon concluded.

"So… how do we get him out of here exactly?" Brad wondered.

A fair question given that even though Jetfire lay close to the hangar door as hoped, there were still a few planes between him and the door itself. This meant that he would have to transform and walk out of the hangar rather than simply roll out.

"Whatever we decide to do, we'd better think of it fast." Jenny advised.


	5. Chapter 5

_**My Life as a Teenage Beast Hunter**_

 **Chapter 5: Breakout**

 **DISCLAIMER: This author does not condone taking aircraft from museums.**

Jenny, Brad, and Sheldon stood near Jetfire scratching their heads trying to figure out how to get the massive Autobot out of the museum without drawing too much attention.

"Come on guys," Brad said after a while. "The place closes in one hour so we need to think of something before then."

Jenny, who could think far more quickly than her friends, went through several different scenarios and plans until she came up with an idea.

"We could tell Frank about Jetfire." Jenny stated plainly. Perhaps too plainly for her friends' liking.

"Are you sure, Jen?" Sheldon objected. "He could just as easily report us or dismiss us entirely."

"I don't like it either, but it's our surest bet." Brad concluded. "I say we tell him and hope for the best."

"Whatever." Sheldon scoffed. "Just don't come crying to me when we get shipped off to a super max prison."

With their course of action decided, Jenny thought of one last thing that she needed to do before going to Frank.

"Psst! Jetfire!" she whispered. "What do you think? Turn your front gear left slightly if you agree and right if you don't."

The three teens watched the gear intently, as if the very fate of the world depended on Jetfire's answer.

The gear turned slightly to the left, noticeable only to Jenny.

"Great. We'll be right back." Jenny promised.

The three found Frank wrapping up an inspection on a World War Two torpedo bomber.

The mechanic noticed them and waved hello. "Come to say goodbye before heading out?" he guessed. "You're too kind."

Jenny smiled nervously. "Not exactly." She admitted. "The thing is… there's something we need to tell you, but it has to be after the museum closes."

Frank raised his eyebrows.

"I know it sounds crazy, but…" Jenny began. "… we know the truth about that Tomcat."

The mechanic's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

Jenny nodded.

Frank rubbed his chin. "If this is all some joke…" he warned.

Jenny stopped him. "I wouldn't be here if it were."

"Alright then, I'll take you to my office. You can fill me in there." Frank decided.

The mechanic put away his tools and lead the three young heroes to his office without major incident. The only hiccup came when one of the other mechanics asked what Frank was doing. He assured them that Brad, Jenny, and Sheldon needed to interview him for a school project. This seemed to assuage the other mechanic's fears and he left Frank alone.

They all made themselves comfortable in the small office. "Alright then. What's so special about that plane?" Frank asked.

"He's actually an alien robot named Jetfire. That symbol you found represents his faction." Jenny explained.

Frank looked as though Jenny dropped a bomb in his lap. "Okay… If he's an alien robot, why does he look like a jet?"

"That's his disguise." Jenny replied succinctly.

Jenny proceeded to explain as much as she could about where Jetfire came from and about the war he'd been part of.

"How do you know all of this?" Frank asked.

Jenny drew a sigh. "I've fought alongside Jetfire before."

Frank shook his head. "Whoa back up. I can believe Jetfire is an alien and a transforming robot. You however, are a teenager. How could you have fought alongside Jetfire?"

"Because I'm a robot too." Jenny revealed. To prove her point, she extended her right arm and opened some of the panels exposing her metal endo skeleton.

"And you two," Frank said referring to Brad and Sheldon. "Are you robots?"

"Nah, but we have robotic suits." Brad answered.

"Okay. Say I believe all of this. What exactly do you want from me?" Frank wondered.

"We need your help to get Jetfire out of here so he can help his friends." Jenny explained.

Frank palmed his face with both hands. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you. I could lose my job and go to prison if my boss finds out."

Jenny looked at the man sternly. "The Decepticons don't care about your job. Or your life for that matter."

Frank sighed again. "I don't know…"

Something hit Jenny just then.

"Do you want to meet him?" Jenny asked.

"For real?" Frank said stunned.

"For real." Jenny affirmed.

Frank and the three teens walked back over to Jetfire.

"Go on." Jenny urged. "Say hi."

"Um… hello… Jetfire. I'm Frank." The man introduced timidly. "I heard you're not from around here."

"Well that's putting it mildly now isn't it?" Jetfire quipped. "I assume Jenny told you everything?"

"Yeah." Frank replied. "And I'll help you get out of here."

"Thanks." Said Jetfire. "Don't get me wrong though, you've got a nice place."

Frank allowed himself a chuckle. "Alright then. I'll go file the flight plan." He said as he turned toward his office.

"Don't you want to see his robot mode first?" Jenny teased.

Frank seemed unsure as Jetfire didn't appear to have much room to transform.

"Don't worry. I'll take it slow." Jetfire assured.

Joints, panels, and armatures extended out and folded around as Jetfire gingerly began his transformation. "That's it. Easy does it." He said to himself. When his legs formed a slight clanking sound echoed across the hangar.

"Ah, okay that was… I'm fine." Jetfire assessed.

Jenny could barely contain her laughter.

After what seemed like eternity, Jetfire finally stood upright after pounding his shoulder into place. All of the parts on his body that used to be red now sported matte black, including the crest on his helmet.

"Whew." Jetfire sighed.

Frank just stood mouth agape at the massive bipedal bot before him. "Whoa."

"Alright time to get this show on the road." Jetfire declared.

"Right," Frank said as he returned to his office to file the flight plan.

Jetfire knelt down to meet Jenny's gaze. "Thanks for coming back." He said.

"Don't thank me yet." Jenny quipped back.

"So, these your friends?" Jetfire wondered.

"Uh huh. This is Sheldon, our resident tech expert." Jenny said pointing to Sheldon. "And this is my boyfriend, Brad."

Jetfire gave a hearty laugh. "Good on ya mates."

 **Later…**

"Tower this is VFA-103-1 requesting takeoff clearance." Jetfire announced as he taxied toward the airport runway.

The air tower controller double checked the flight plan before getting back on the radio with his reply. "VFA-103-1, your flight plan checks out. Takeoff clearance granted. Proceed to runway 00."

"Thank you tower." Jetfire responded. "Proceeding to 00."

Jetfire steadily eased himself onto the runway and stopped on the giant pair of zeros. The massive Autobot jet then throttled up his two engines, producing a throaty roar. Jetfire released his brakes and rocketed down the tarmac. Speed quickly built up as the two engines propelled Jetfire along. He soon reached takeoff speed and lifted his nose skyward. "This is VFA-103-1. I'm up." Jetfire reported as he retracted his landing gear.

"Roger VFA-103-1. Godspeed." The air traffic controller acknowledged.

Jetfire rolled back and forth a couple of times as a way of saying goodbye.

Jenny, Brad, and Sheldon formed up with the Autobot Sky Guardian a few seconds later.

"Okay guys, ready to find Ratchet?" Jenny asked as he was the next closest Autobot.

"Ready." Brad answered.

"Sounds good to me." Sheldon agreed.

Jetfire paused for a second. "Hold on."

"What is it?" Jenny wondered.

"Remember that device I used to track down the Nemesis?" Jetfire asked.

Given that the aforementioned device proved instrumental in saving her life, Jenny would likely never forget it.

"Yeah." She answered.

"Well, I'm picking up a cloaked vessel in orbit, and I'm pretty sure it isn't the _Nemesis_ or the _Harbinger._ " Jetfire guessed. "I think we should check it out."

Jenny thought for a moment. "It might be a Decepticon trap. I don't think we can afford that kind of risk right now."

"Probably not. But I still think we should see for ourselves." Jetfire reasoned.

Sheldon suggested that the matter be put to a vote. The four heroes made clear their choice and sped off toward their destination…

 **A/N:** I know, another long delay. I've been stuck trying to figure out how make this chapter work, preparing for school this fall, and a few other things. I'd like to make it up to you guys by letting you decide whether our heroes follow Jenny's plan to find Ratchet or Jetfire's plan to investigate the cloaked ship. I'll count the votes a week from today and write the next chapter accordingly. Thank you all for reading. Until next time.


	6. Update

Hello everyone. I know I haven't updated in a while... again. I've started a new semester of college so I won't be able to write fanfiction for the time being. I might be able to pick back up again when the semester ends, but don't expect any updates for now. Thanks to everyone who has read my stories and I apologize for my untimely behavior.

-Corsair


	7. Chapter 6

_**My Life as a Teenage Beast Hunter**_

 **Chapter 6: Inferno**

The _Enduring Spirit_ continued to sail calmly in Earth's orbit despite its jaunt to the surface not too long ago.

"Status, helm?" Elita One requested.

Sideswipe currently manned the helm station with Prowl acting as copilot. Behind and to the left of Elita One's chair, Moonracer operated the tactical station.

"Cloaking shield is active. All other systems functioning at optimal performance. Condition is green." Sideswipe reported. "Just like the last five times you asked."

Elita smiled slightly, for she knew that the young Autobot was only trying to break the tension. The fact that the Decepticons hadn't discovered the ship yet was testament to its cloaking capabilities, but even the best cloaking device would not allow the _Enduring Spirit_ to remain hidden forever.

Suddenly, a few weird readings appeared on Sideswipe's monitor. "Uh Elita, I've got something here, but I'm not sure what to make of it."

"I'll get Crosswind in here. He should be able to make sense of this." Elita decided.

 **Meanwhile, in the Enduring Spirit's training room…**

"Come on, kid, put some more servo into it!" Ironhide barked in encouragement.

The surly old Autobot had been helping Crosswind improve his fighting skills at every available opportunity. Presently, Ironhide held his palms up as targets for Crosswind to strike with his fists and feet. Ironhide would move around and change his hands' position to offer his student a moving target.

"Ha! Hyah! Heyah!" Crosswind grunted as he punched and kicked with all his might. "Your technique is still a little sloppy." Ironhide criticized.

Before Crosswind could say anything, the ship's intercom sounded. "Crosswind, report to the bridge immediately."

"Guess we'll have to pick this up later." Ironhide remarked as he walked to the bridge with Crosswind.

Elita One explained the situation to Crosswind as he stepped on to the bridge. He took the helm console from Sideswipe and began running analyses of the ship's readings. "Okay… looks like some anomalous temperature readings in the Northwestern quadrant and four signals: two Autobots, one Decepticon, and a signal of unknown origin." He explained.

Elita One considered this information. "Thank you Crosswind. Please remain on the bridge and continue monitoring the situation." She keyed in Silverbolt's frequency. "Silverbolt, assemble your team in the launch bay. Crosswind will brief you once you're there."

As the Aerialbots started toward the launch bay, Slingshot asked the burning question. "Whadya think this is all about Air Raid?"

"If we get to see some action, who cares?" Air Raid reasoned. "All we've been doing until now is spinning our wheels. I just hope this doesn't turn out to be a false alarm."

"That's enough you two." Silverbolt interjected. "If Elita one is sending us out there, she must have a good reason for it."

Slingshot muttered something unintelligible, but didn't argue back.

Each Aerialbot affixed their front landing gear to a magnetic catapult system designed to push them out of the bay at high speed without having to expend any of their own Energon.

"This is Silverbolt. We're ready when you are Elita." The Aerialbots leader announced.

Elita gave the order for Silverbolt and his team to launch.

The five catapults whirred to life as they shot the Aerialbots out of the launch bay. Once clear, the team maneuvered onto an intercept heading and sped toward the forests of Washington…

Bulkhead and Wheeljack began making their way out of the wildlife preserve when suddenly, a dark ominous shadow blocked out the sun. A loud whooshing sound accompanied the shadow, followed by an ear-splitting roar.

"What in the name of Primus is that?!" Bulkhead exclaimed.

For one of the few times in his life, Wheeljack found himself terrified. "I don't know, but it does not seem friendly."

"Miko, hang on," Bulkhead advised. "This is going to be bumpy."

The girl clutched a small handlebar above the passenger side door as her Autobot guardian began to weave back and forth between the pine trees. Wheeljack followed suit.

High above, Scourge observed his prey in his experimental flying wing mode. "Not just any Autobots," the former deserter hunter mused to himself, "but Wreckers." As much as he wanted to snuff their sparks himself, his objective was to test the Predacon's mettle in combat.

"Lord Megatron, I have two Autobots in my sights: The Wreckers known as Bulkhead and Wheeljack." Scourge reported.

 _At last._ Megatron thought. "Very good. Tell the Predacon to engage and destroy."

"Yes my Lord." Scourge replied curtly. "Predacon, destroy those Wreckers!"

An orb on the Predacon's chest began to glow as the capacitors inside charged. The energy traveled up the beast's long neck and launched out of its mouth in the form of a massive fire ball.

Bulkhead noticed the incoming attack in his rearview mirror and swerved to his left. Wheeljack swerved right.

The fire ball impacted the ground with immense force, shaking the ground as its energy dispersed and ignited the surrounding brush.

Miko looked back on the destruction in shock. Bulkhead must have sensed her fear.

"We're gonna be okay Miko." The big bot comforted. "We're gonna be okay."

Wheeljack noticed a pattern from the Predacon. The Wrecker swerved left and Predacon banked left. He swerved right and the beast banked right. At this point, Wheeljack understood how this thing had tracked them down.

"Oh that's just great." Wheeljack groaned.

Bulkhead whipped around yet another pine tree. "Something wrong Wheeljack?"

"I'm the reason this thing is here." Wheeljack informed. "It probably got my scent from the _Jack Hammer._ "

Bulkhead sighed. "This isn't your fault."

Wheeljack would have shaken his head if he were in robot mode. "Yes, it is. So I'm gonna make it up to you two." He promised as he peeled off to the right.

"Wheeljack!" Miko and Bulkhead cried out.

The Predacon more than matched Wheeljack's turn and gave chase.

"Lord Megatron, the Autobots have split up and the Predacon is following Wheeljack." Scourge reported.

"Then let him." Megatron ordered. "He thinks he is buying time for his friends, but he has only delayed the inevitable."

"Yes, my Lord." Scourge answered.

Starscream approached the Megatron. "Lord Megatron, If I may…" he began. "I have my reservations about the Predacon. Do you really believe Scourge can control it?"

The dark lord turned to his subordinate. "Scourge seems to have a handle on things. If he loses control however, you may launch your Seekers."

"Many thanks Lord Megatron." Starscream replied before leaving the room with balled fists.

Back in the forest, the Predacon hurled another fire ball in Wheeljack's direction. The Wrecker evaded the attack by shifting into robot mode and using his momentum to jump behind a sufficiently sized boulder. The fire ball's impact instantly incinerated the nearby trees, but inflicted only slight heat damage to the boulder.

The Predacon landed with a hefty thud, snapping trees and logs like toothpicks and causing a slight tremor. Wheeljack took his first good look at the monster before him. He'd never seen anything so powerful- or ugly- in his life.

"Eat this!" Wheeljack yelled as he fired his arm cannon. The Predacon simply positioned its giant wings in front of his face as a natural shield so that Wheeljack's blasts ricocheted away.

The Wrecker realized his cannon's ineffectiveness retracted them back into his arms. Wheeljack then removed a grenade from his hip and tossed it toward the Predacon. The beast folded its wings back to charge up another fireball. The grenade sailed through the air in an arc before landing directly inside the Predacon's mouth. The beast made a confused sounding noise and cocked its head to one side.

A few seconds later, a soft thud could be heard from inside the Predacon. Not worse for wear, the beast began charging his main weapon again. Wheeljack just stared slack jawed. "You've gotta be slaggin' kidding me!"

Seeing that his ranged weaponry proved useless, Wheeljack decided to go for broke and drew his swords. The Wrecker leapt out of cover toward the Predacon. At the same time, the Predacon launched a fireball.

Wheeljack narrowly avoided having his lower legs scorched off by twisting around in the air. He landed feet first on the base of the Predacon's neck and thrust his swords down between two armor segments. The Predacon roared in pain before raising his tail.

Before Wheeljack could react, the Predacon used its sharp tail to impale him through the right side of his back.

"AARRGGH!" Wheeljack screamed in pain.

The Predacon, apparently not satisfied with stabbing the Autobot, proceeded use its tail to slam him on the ground and against several trees.

Wheeljack eventually slipped off the Predacon's tail with such force that he plowed through a nearby pine tree and landed in a heap at the tree's roots. The wounded Wrecker took stock of his situation. The Predacon's tail had left a gaping hole through his back and out of his chest that was leaking Energon. Several scuffs and scratches pockmarked his armor and nearly everything in his body hurt.

Desperate to survive, Wheeljack grabbed a nearby shrub and forced it into his chest wound to stop the Energon leak. The pain from this combined with his low Energon levels caused Wheeljack to pass out.

Scourge caught sight of the Wrecker's limp form. "Predacon, finish him!" The great beast reared up on its hind legs, ready to deliver the final crushing blow when out of nowhere, the sound of jet engines echoed through the air.

"Hm?" Scourge wondered aloud.

"What's going on down there?" Megatron demanded. Scourge informed him that five flying objects were approaching his position.

"Starscream!" Megatron hollered instinctively. The Seeker shrunk back defensively. "Lord Megatron, I assure you, all of my Seekers are on standby as per your orders."

"Scourge, be wary." Megatron advised.

"Maintain Delta formation." Silverbolt commanded as he lead his team toward the signals that Crosswind pinpointed. "ETA to target: two minutes. Concentrate all fire on the unknown signal."

"Got it." Fireflight replied.

Their target came into view.

"Vector Sigma!" Skydive gasped.

"Look at the size of that thing!" Air Raid concurred.

Silverbolt noticed the beast's dark blue companion. "Scourge."

"One of the deserter killers?" Air Raid realized.

"New plan." Silverbolt announced. "Skydive, Air Raid, target Scourge. The rest of you help me attack that monster."

"Copy that." Said Air Raid giddy with the prospect of taking down such a notorious Decepticon.

Silverbolt readied his precision guided bombs. "Target locked. Release!" he called out as several armor piercing munitions dropped from his bomb bay. Slingshot and Fireflight fired their own missiles.

The weapons detonated squarely on the Predacon's back knocking it to the ground. Slingshot could barely contain himself. "Yeah, we got him!" he exclaimed.

Silverbolt could see the beast struggle back onto all fours. "Hang on guys, that thing's not dead. Go around for another pass."

As the three Aerialbots regrouped for another run, Silverbolt saw the beast disappear into a Ground Bridge vortex.

"What the scrap was that thing?" Slingshot wondered.

Meanwhile, Scourge had his hands full fending off Skydive and Air Raid. "Lord Megatron, it's the Aerialbots!"

Every Decepticon officer at Darkmount looked stunned.

"They've hit the Predacon, and it appears to have suffered some damage." Scourge continued. "Engaging." The seasoned hunter performed a nearly impossible backflip maneuver that placed him directly behind Air Raid.

Scourge opened fire with his cannon as Air Raid swerved and jinked every which way he could to shake the pursing Decepticon. "Skydive, I could use some help here." Air Raid called out.

Skydive saw this as the perfect opportunity to use his special ability. "Hang in there, Air Raid, I just need a bit of time." He assured.

Skydive kept his optics on Scourge and analyzed his flight patterns. True to his word, the scan finished after approximately 30.2 seconds. Skydive tore after Scourge armed with all that he needed to achieve victory.

"Hey Skydive, whenever you're ready!" Air Raid urged as he barely avoided a volley of cannon fire.

The Aerialbot took up position behind Scourge and fired a short burst from his cannon. Scourge broke off from Air Raid's six as expected. What an uninformed observer might not expect, however, was Skydive's ability to match Scourge's turn perfectly.

"How did you…" Scourge gasped as he banked again.

Skydive stayed with the Decepticon and managed to put a few shots into his starboard engine. Smoke poured out from both ends of the turbine as Scourge shuddered from the damage.

"Scourge can you hear me?" Megatron demanded after regaining his wits. "Soundwave will open a Ground Bridge for you shortly."

"Understood." Scourge replied. Neither he nor the Predacon could take on the Aerialbots. Not yet anyway. "What about the Predacon?"

Megatron grimaced. "He's waiting for you in his pen." He said as Predaking slashed and pounded at his enclosure's walls.

A Ground Bridge Vortex appeared in front of Scourge. He sailed through just as Skydive fired a missile. Fortunately for the Decepticons, the bridge closed before the missile could follow Scourge into Darkmount.

"Skydive, Air Raid, say status." Silverbolt commanded.

"We're fine." Skydive reported. "Scourge got away though."

"Well those two Autobot signals are still active so let's find them and get them out of here." Silverbolt declared.

Bulkhead found a cave to hide in while the fight raged outside, but the big bot couldn't help but shake the feeling the Wheeljack had made a fatal decision by taking off. Miko felt even worse about the ordeal.

"What are we doing Bulk?" she wondered aloud. "We should be out there helping Jackie fight that… dragon… thing…"

Bulkhead sighed. "I don't like this any more than you do, but this was the only way to keep you safe."

"But…" Miko began.

"Wheeljack at least has a small chance of surviving out there." Bulkhead interrupted. "You don't have any. Besides, I gave Prime my word that I would keep you safe."

"Yeah." Miko grumbled. "Besides, my foster parents would probably melt you down if anything happened to me."

Just then, the two heard jet sounds followed by footsteps.

"Scrap." Bulkhead swore. "The Cons brought reinforcements."

The footsteps moved closer to the cave's entrance.

"Miko, I need you to get out and take cover." Bulkhead whispered as he opened the door.

Miko did as she was told by ducking behind a stalagmite.

A Cybertronian figure appeared at the caves entrance. Bulkhead didn't even give him time to say "Hello." The Wrecker tore down the cave at maximum speed toward the figure, shifting into robot mode at the last second to tackle him to the ground. Bulkhead drew his wrecking ball and nearly used the weapon to smash the visitor's face when he realized who it was.

"Fireflight?" the Wrecker said bewildered.

"Bulk…" was all Fireflight could manage given that Bulkhead lay on his body.

"Oh… uh… sorry…" Bulkhead stammered as he stood up.

"Don't worry about it." Fireflight said. "My team and I have orders to bring you to our ship."

Bulkheads optics widened at that. "Team?! Ship?!"

"Hey guys, its Bulkhead." Fireflight reported. "Have you found the other signal?"

"Yeah." Skydive said. "It's Wheeljack."

"How is he?" Bulkhead asked.

"It's bad. Really bad. He needs immediate medical attention."

"Jackie…" Miko whispered.

"He'll be fine Bulkhead." Fireflight assured. "Our ship's medical facilities are top notch. Now come on, let's get out of here before more Decepticons show up."

"Come on out Miko." Bulkhead called.

"Miko? Who's Miko?" Fireflight wondered.

"I am." Miko said. "You're sure Wheeljack will be okay?"

"Absolutely." Fireflight promised.

With that, the Aerialbots, Bulkhead and Miko returned to the _Enduring Spirit._

 **Out in Earth Orbit…**

"We're approaching the signal." Jetfire announced. "ETA in sixty seconds." He flew alongside Jenny, Sheldon and Brad on their way to one of the contacts that he picked up with his scanner.

"You think they're friendly?" Brad wondered. "Because if they aren't we'll be in a real mess."

"I suppose we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it." Jenny replied.

Sheldon rolled his eyes. "Very reassuring."

"Visual contact five seconds." Jetfire said. "This is it."

As the four approached they began to make out a ship of some sort. And a very familiar insignia on the hull.

"Whoa!" Jenny exclaimed.

"No way!" Brad agreed.

"I don't believe it!" Jetfire gasped.

 **Meanwhile on the Enduring Spirit…**

As the _Enduring Spirit_ continued to orbit the planet, Crosswind kept his optics on his monitors when suddenly the proximity alarm sounded. "Proximity alert." Crosswind reported. "One contact on an intercept course."

Elita One was beginning to think that sending the ship down to the surface was a mistake.

"Autobot or Decepticon?" Prowl wondered. Crosswind tapped a few keys. "Autobot." Crosswind said aghast. "Visual contact in sixty seconds."

Those sixty seconds seemed like an eternity, but the unknown Autobot could finally be identified. Crosswind nearly fell out of his seat when he realized who it was. "It's Jetfire!" He exclaimed.

"Excellent." Elita One replied. "Let him know that we're friendly and that he's welcome to come aboard."

Crosswind passed the message along.

Jetfire received the message and patched into the _Enduring Spirit's_ communication frequency. "Copy that _Enduring Spirit_." Jetfire acknowledged. "We're on our way to the main hangar."

"We?" Crosswind replied in a confused tone. "Who's with you? I'm only reading one signal. Or maybe I'm getting rusty."

Jetfire chuckled. "You're not rusty, kid. It's just that my friends can't be picked up by your sensors. I'll explain everything once I'm on board."

Just then, Arcee and Jack arrived on the bridge. "We heard the proximity alert. What's going on?" Arcee wondered.

"Jetfire is boarding as we speak. And it appears he brought some friends that don't show up on our scanners."

Jack's eyes widened as he realized there was only one person who fit that description. As if on cue, Jetfire, Jenny, Brad and Crosswind arrived at the bridge.

"Hey there everyone." Jetfire greeted. "Quite a ship you got here."

Crosswind nearly fell out of his seat at the sight of his hero. The young Autobot quickly recovered and approached Jetfire. He straightened his posture and gave a salute as he greeted himself. "Autobot Reconnaissance Force First Lieutenant Crosswind, sir!"

"Easy there." Jetfire replied. "No need to be so formal."

"Ha! Don't waste your time Jetfire." Moonracer advised. "That's just the way he is."

Crosswind gave Moonracer an intense death glare before turning back to Jetfire. "Sorry. It's just that you're one of my heroes."

"Glad to hear it." Jetfire replied. "And you must be Elita One."

"Indeed." The commander of the _Enduring Spirit_ replied. "You said you would explain those three." She reminded motioning to Jenny, Brad, and Sheldon.

"Right." Jetfire said. He gave his best recap of the events prior to the _Enduring Spirit's_ arrival. "And that's everything I know."

"Thank you Jetfire. Now Jenny, is there anything you can add?" Elita questioned.

"Yes." she began. "Optimus and I were the last two left in the base. He told me to leave while he stayed behind."

"We'll of course he'd stay behind!" Ironhide interjected. "Optimus would never go down without a fight."

"No Ironhide. I think he stayed behind to destroy the Space Bridge. He sacrificed himself so the Decepticons wouldn't follow us."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"Do you know where Optimus might be now?" Elita inquired further.

"Either he's trapped in the ruins of the base or the Decepticons captured him. Either way, it's gonna be tough to rescue him."

"Yes." Elita agreed. "Thank you Jenny."

"Enduring Spirit, this is Silverbolt, we are approaching now." Silverbolt reported.

Crosswind returned to his station to reply. "Copy that Silverbolt. By the way, what was that unknown contact?"

"I'll explain later. Get sickbay ready, I'm carrying Wheeljack and he's in critical condition." Silverbolt ordered.

"Understood." Crosswind replied. "What about the other Autobot?"

"Bulkhead. His human companion Miko too." Silverbolt replied.

"All right!" Jack exclaimed.

Silverbolt rushed Wheeljack to sick bay while the rest of the Aerialbots, Bulkhead and Miko went to the bridge.

"Jack!" Miko exclaimed. The two shared a hug after not seeing each other for so long. Miko noticed Jenny and nearly lost her mind. "You're here too?!"

"Ah it was the least I could do." Jenny replied.

After introductions were exchanged and Silverbolt arrived on the bridge he explained the situation. "The Decepticon deserter killers Scourge and Cyclonus have joined Megatron's ranks. And somehow, they have a Predacon."

"Predacon?" Jenny wondered.

"Prehistoric Cybertronian beasts with animal instincts. They may be primitive, but they were extremely powerful. Even the Primes had trouble dealing with them." Elita explained.

"Then what were Dino Bots?" Miko asked.

"Totally different." Bulkhead answered.

"If the Decepticons have that thing, we need to adjust our strategy." Crosswind observed. "Indeed." Elita concurred. "I'll leave the details to you. In the meantime, we need to find Ratchet and Bumblebee."

"No problem." Jenny assured. "I know exactly where they are. Just show me a map."

Crosswind pulled up a map of the world.

"Okay, Ratchet went here." Jenny said while pointing to Ohio. "And Bumblebee went here." She said pointing to Maine.

"Right. We'll need to keep a low profile went we find them. Jack, Arcee you'll retrieve Bumblebee while Jenny, Brad and Sheldon get Ratchet." Elita ordered.

"Got it." Jenny replied.

 **Back at Darkmount…**

Starscream and Megatron observed Scourge's attempts to calm the Predacon down. "I'm not convinced, my lord." Starscream said. "The beast is simply too unpredictable, even in Scourge's hands."

"This was the beast's first taste of combat, Starscream." Megatron reminded. "I didn't expect everything to go smoothly. Besides, the Predacon managed to mortally wound an Autobot and survive several attacks from the Aerialbots. With time and patience, this beast will become our ultimate weapon."

"If you say so, Lord Megatron." Starscream said skeptically.

 **A/N:**

I know this is way overdue, but I promise that updates will be coming biweekly from now on. Please tell me what you think and feel free to read my other stories while you wait for the next chapter.


	8. Chapter 7

_**My Life as a Teenage Beast Hunter**_

 **Chapter 7: Ratchet, Come Home**

"Hey Jetfire, what do you think Ratchet will say?" Jenny wondered aloud. She, Brad, Sheldon and the sky guardian made their way to the Autobot medic's location: a scrap heap just North of Columbus, Ohio.

"Not sure." Jetfire replied. "He'll either begrudgingly hear us out or tell us to bugger off."

"Then we'd better make a convincing case." Brad quipped.

As the four approached the junkyard, Jenny scouted ahead to make sure that no one was there to catch them making off with Ratchet. She also confirmed his location within the junkyard. "Okay, guys, the coast is clear." She reported.

The four touched down and approached Ratchet who was hiding in his vehicle form among various bits of scrap metal and plastic. His motor wasn't running and he seemingly hadn't noticed the foursome's arrival. "So, who wants to wake him?" Sheldon asked.

Jetfire stepped forward. "Better let me handle this." He tapped his fist on Ratchet's roof a few times. "Hey, wake up mate. It's Jetfire." He said.

After what sounded like a groan and a yawn, Ratchet spoke. "Now I know I've gone senile since I'm hearing _that_ voice." He grumbled.

"You might be senile, but you're not hearing things." Jenny piped up. "We're really here."

Ratchet visibly became rigid after hearing Jenny's voice. "Jenny?!" He gasped. He started to shift into robot mode, but in an irritated almost angry fashion. When the last of his parts snapped into position he glared at the robot girl. "You came back…"

"Well… yeah…" Jenny replied meekly, surprised at the medic's reaction. Ratchet turned to Jetfire. "And I assume she dragged you into this?"

"Don't pin this on her, mate. I wanted to do this." Jetfire replied.

Ratchet noticed the two figures behind Jenny just then. "And who are these two? Friends of yours?" He demanded.

"As a matter of fact, they are." Jenny replied as she crossed her arms. "Meet Brad and Sheldon, AKA, Cardinal and Silver Shell."

Ratchet couldn't believe his audio receptors. "Waaaiiit a minute, you mean to say those are _humans?!"_ Ratchet realized incredulously.

"Yup." Brad confirmed. "Yeah that's right." Sheldon chimed in.

"Jenny, have you completely lost your mind?! Not only have you put yourself in harm's way by coming back here, but you've also put human lives in danger! Why?"

Jenny clenched her fists, tired of being talked to in such a manner. "You and the Autobots saved my life. Several times. What kind of person would I be if I didn't return the favor? Besides I've been training Brad and Sheldon's suit is state of the art."

Ratchet let out a heavy sigh. "Jenny… your dedication is… admirable. Some might even say Prime-like."

Jenny appreciated the praise, but guessed that Ratchet had more to say.

"But look around you." He lamented. "Optimus is no more, we have no base, the Decepticons have a foot hold on Earth and the rest of us remain scattered. The War is over. And we lost." The medic hung his head in sorrow. "Go home. Leave us to fate."

"No!" Jenny yelled back startling everyone. "I'm not abandoning you. The fight isn't over!" She lowered her voice to explain the situation. "Right now, there's an Autobot ship in orbit crewed by some of the most skilled Autobots."

Ratchet perked up upon hearing this. "What…" he gasped.

"And their leader is Elita One." Jenny revealed.

Ratchet gazed intently at the young heroine and then at Jetfire. "Is this true?" he wondered.

"Absolutely. Arcee, Bulkhead, and Wheeljack are onboard as well." Jetfire confirmed. "In fact, Jack and Arcee should be getting Bumblebee and Raf as we speak."

"So, what do you say Ratchet? Will come back with us?" Jenny asked.

Ratchet just stood there dumbfounded. "I… yes. I will. Optimus wouldn't want me to give up. And all of you showed me that there's still hope."

Back aboard the Enduring Spirit, Ratchet and the others stepped onto the bridge where they were joined by the rest of the crew.

"Ratchet!" Miko exclaimed. "Took you long enough." Bulkhead joked.

"Yes, well I just needed some convincing." Ratchet replied. He noticed Elita One approaching and knelt to meet her gaze. "It's wonderful to see you again Elita."

"You too Ratchet." She replied. "We haven't had a medic aboard for some time. Speaking of which, Wheeljack is in sickbay."

Ratchet's optics widened. "What happened?"

"He got into a fight with a rather nasty creature and is heavily damaged, but stable. I'm sure he can tell you more once you've restored him."

"Say no more." Ratchet said curtly as he tore toward sickbay.

When Ratchet saw Wheeljack he looked at the readout on the monitor next to him. "Multiple armor breaches, severe Energon leaking, limb misalignment… by the Allspark." He then set to work on stopping the Energon leaks. For the next two hours Ratchet fixed broken Energon lines and replaced missing ones until every leak had been fixed.

At this point, Ratchet observed increased spark and neural net activity on the monitor. Wheeljack awoke with a groan and noticed Ratchet standing before him. "Hey Doc, am I dead?" he asked.

Ratchet scoffed. "If you were dead, I wouldn't be here. And don't call me Doc."

Wheeljack gave a weak laugh. "Thanks."

"What happened? Elita tells me you fought some kind of creature."

"Hehe. You wouldn't believe me if I told you…"

 **Meanwhile at Darkmount…**

"I've analyzed the battle data, Lord Megatron, and formed my assessment." Scourge reported. The Decepticon leader motioned for him to continue. "The predacon performed well against a single ground based opponent, but had difficulty dealing with multiple aerial threats."

Starscream rolled his optics. "That's putting it lightly." He muttered.

"Quiet Starscream." Megatron commanded. "Continue."

"Based on these results I recommend a detachment of Seekers accompany myself and the Predacon to deal with any unwanted distractions." Scourge advised.

"Very well." Megatron decided. "Starscream, gather your best Seekers and inform them that they will provide escort for Predaking and Scourge from now on."

 _I just hope that thing stays out of their way_. Starscream thought. "At once, Lord Megatron."

As Starscream departed, Meagtron contacted his communications officer. "Soundwave. The Autobots are proving far too elusive. I have an idea for drawing them out…"


	9. Chapter 8

_**My Life as a Teenage Beast Hunter**_

 **Chapter 8: Mobilize**

Soundwave's face plate displayed a message being broadcast across all frequencies in the hopes that the Autobots would receive it. Megatron nodded approvingly. "Good. Now we wait."

"Lord Megatron!" a Vehicon called out. "Several objects approaching by land and air."

The Decepticon leader cocked an eyebrow, clearly not expecting a result so soon. "Autobots?" he asked doubtfully.

"Negative. The Earth military. Appears to be two of their armored divisions and two squadrons of fighters approaching from 094 at 50 miles and closing. Should we attack?"

Megatron shook his head in disbelief. "No. Let them make the first move, but ready our defenses." The dark lord then keyed in his commlink. "Starscream, standby and await my command on the flight deck. Ready the Seekers for battle."

"At once my liege!" Starscream replied sounding thrilled at having something to shoot at.

"Stunticons, you'll be taking part as well." Megatron announced.

"Finally! We've just been spinning our wheels here!" Dragstrip moaned. "Ah quit your whinin' and get moving ya dweeb. That goes for all of yas." Motormaster bellowed. The four other Stunticons rushed to their ready positions without another word.

Megatron turned to his loyal communications officer again. "Soundwave, I want Optimus to witness the impending carnage first hand. See to it that he absorbs every detail."

Soundwave nodded and started for the brig aboard the Nemesis…

 **Unit E Hangar, Agent Fowler's Office…**

"They authorized what!?" Special Agent Fowler exclaimed in disbelief as he grasped his phone more tightly. "Are they out of their minds?!"

General Bryce was on the other end of the line. "I'm sorry Bill. I told them that the Autobots were the best chance for dealing with this, but the President, the Joint Chiefs and SECDEF believe Megatron forced their hands with that fiasco in Washington."

"Please General…" Fowler begged. "A lot of good people are going to die if they go through with this."

"I understand your opinion on this Bill, but our superiors have made up their minds." Bryce lamented.

"All due respect, General… it won't be a fight." Fowler sighed.

"Let's hope you're wrong. Bryce out." The general signed off. Fowler hung up and sank into his chair. _Come on guys, where are you?_ Fowler wondered. Before the agent could get completely overwhelmed though, his thoughts turned to June and all the refugees from Jasper outside.

He rushed out of his office and toward the tarmac outside the hangar. Thousands of the local townspeople were gathered around trying to comfort each other. Parents, children, teachers, police, firefighters, people from all walks of life waiting for everything to return to normal. Medical staff from the base assisted by civilian doctors and nurses tended to those injured during the evacuation of Jasper on gurneys, empty bomb carts, truck beds or any suitable flat surface available.

As Fowler made his way to the center of the group, he began to draw stares from the crowd. He cleared his throat after finding a suitable vantage point. "Excuse me. May I have everyone's attention?" he began. "We're going to move everyone indoors starting with the wounded until further notice."

The townspeople seemed confused at first, but started to take shelter in a reasonably calm fashion. As Nurse Darby left the stretcher she was pushing to another nurse and approached Agent Fowler. "What's going on?" she asked.

Fowler sighed. "The military is launching a full-scale assault on Megatron's new digs. I'm worried about a counter attack."

Nurse Darby nodded absently and started thinking about all the horrible things that could happen. "I'm sorry June." Fowler apologized. "There might be more work coming your way."

"I've seen dead and dying soldiers before…" June murmured as she looked down.

Fowler raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry?"

June shook her head. "Nothing. Let's head indoors."

Colonel William Bertz led the charge of his armored divisions toward the Decepticon fortress Darkmount. He commanded a force of 128 M-1 Abrams Main Battle tanks, 40 APCs, 16 mobile Surface to Air Missile batteries, 16 mobile rocket launchers and 24 attack helicopters.

"Target in sight." He called over the radio. "All units form a perimeter around the fortress." The armored vehicles and helicopters formed a ring around the citadel. "All units in position, awaiting further orders." The division executive officer reported.

Colonel Bertz took a deep breath. "All units, fire at will. Repeat all units, fire at will." He ordered. Shells, rockets, and guided missiles pelted the Decepticon fortress, but to no avail. "Sir, first volley had no effect!" Bertz's gunner yelled. "Keep firing, we're bound to find a chink in their armor eventually."

Meanwhile, all Megatron could do was laugh. "Foolish insects! Starscream, Motormaster, give our guests a warm reception."

As the Seeker Commander and the Stunticon leader departed, Optimus could see the entire ordeal courtesy of Soundwave. "No…" he lamented. "Run…"

"Colonel, look!" Bertz's gunner cried. Vehicons flowed from Darkmount like a swarm of angry hornets, eager to punish those who had kicked their nest. Starscream could hardly contain his excitement. "All Seekers engage at will!" He banked into a dive and fired his lasers at a formation of helicopters. One by one they exploded and fell like popped balloons. The rest of the Seekers took out a quarter of the human forces in their first pass. As the aerial menace set up for their next run, the Stunticons began engaging the army.

"Allright ya sorry excuses for scrap, split up and tear em to shreds!" Motormaster commanded. The five vehicles fanned out and picked their targets. The tanks opened fire on the Stunticons, but they easily swerved around the shells. Dragstrip drove straight at a tank, transformed and used his momentum to grab the gun barrel of the tank and pull the turret from its ring. He then used the turret as a bat against a pair of mobile rocket launchers.

Motormaster seemed content with ramming into the armored vehicles while the rest of the Stunticons ripped them apart with their bare hands. Colonel Bertz couldn't believe his eyes. His men lay dead and dying all around him and the Decepticons hadn't suffered any losses. "Fall back! All units fall…" The Colonel's tank was crushed under Wildrider's heel.

Those with operational vehicles heard enough of the order and began a panicked retreat. "The enemy is fleeing, Master!" Starscream observed. "Shall we pursue?"

"No, I want them to see the full extent of my power. Prepare the fusion cannon." Megatron ordered. The weapon to which he refered was one of four large rectangular cannons perched just below Darkmount's peak. The cannon in closest proximity to the routed human army rotated into position. "Fusion cannon is ready." The Vehicon operating it reported.

Megatron smiled. "Fire!"

A green beam of energy lanced out from the cannon and struck in the middle of the retreating vehicles. The beam created some sort of singularity that drew the tanks and helicopters into a giant twisted metal ball. A massive explosion flung the vehicles in all directions shortly after scattering them across the desert floor, along with their crews.

In about ten minutes, several hundred soldiers and pilots of the United States military had been thoroughly curb stomped. Optimus had no words as his worst nightmares had just come to life. He hung his head and wondered when all this suffering would be over…

"Bill… the President and SECDEF… say they apologize for not listening to you." General Bryce informed. "They also said that they plan to take no further action against the Decepticons for the time being."

Agent Fowler found no comfort in this knowing the cost of the battle. "Understood." He replied. "Oh, we need some medical supplies and staff ASAP."

"Alright, I'll send help right away. Bryce out." The general signed off. Fowler hung up as well and pinched the bridge of his nose. _Come on Bots. We need you. Just give us a sign, something!_ He thought.

 **Meanwhile on board the Enduring Spirit...**

While Sideswipe opereated the helm, Crosswind monitored comm traffic for any sign of Decepticon activity. He believed that more intelligence was required before the attack on Darkmount could commence.

Suddenly, he picked up a signal that seemed to originate from the Decepticon citadel itself. He couldn't believe his optics when he saw the message carried by the signal. "Commander! I've got something!" he shouted.

"What is it?" the femme wondered.

"Decepticon chatter pertaining to Optimus Prime." Crosswind announced. That got everyone's attention. "What about him?" Prowl inquired.

"Apparently, he's being held captive aboard the Nemesis. And he's still online!" Crosswind exclaimed.

"Crosswind," Prowl began. "I want to believe this as much as anyone else here, but this is obviously a trap. The Decepticons are trying to flush us out."

"But there's a chance it could be true!" Jenny argued. "We have to save him!"

"I agree with Prowl." Elita said. "Even if Optimus is still online, we can't afford to be reckless."

A few seconds later, the crew aboard the Enduring Spirit witnessed the entire battle between the Decepticons and the Army from orbit. They all stood dumbfounded at how one sided the battle had been for the humans. "Unbelieveable…" Moonracer gasped.

"Megtron's going to pay for this."Jenny resolved.

Crosswind turned to Elita One, who wore a thoughtful expression. "Commander, we can't afford to wait any longer."

Ironhide piped up too. "Yeah, the longer we spend up here, the more humans are at risk."

Elita rose from her seat. "Indeed. Everyone split into your assigned teams." She ordered.

Jetfire joined the Aerialbots in the launch bay. They would provide a diversion for Megatrons forces and attempt to bring down Predaking. Jenny, Brad, and Sheldon would infiltrate the Decepticon flagship and locate Optimus. Crosswind, Ratchet, Wheeljack, and the children would stay on the ship and provide support from orbit. Everyone else boarded excavation vehicles and would take part in the main assault on the Decepticon fortress.

When all the teams had reported in, Elita gave the now famous command: "Autobots, roll out!"

 **A/N:** It's all coming to a head folks! On a more serious note, exams are coming up for me so I won't be able to post the next chapter until the week of the 7th of May. Thank you all who have stuck with this story despite my infrequent updates and unacceptably long droughts. Please tell me what you think of this chapter and check out my other stories. Thanks again and as always, enjoy.


	10. Chapter 9

_**My Life as a Teenage Beast Hunter**_

 **Chapter 9: Heavy Metal War**

 **A/N:** I expanded the combiner fight a little and changed the final scene a bit.

"Tell your superiors to stay out of our way, Agent Fowler." Megatron advised. "I apologize for acting as I did, but it was in self-defense."

"I'm having a hard time believing that Megatron." Fowler countered. "You've attacked two military installations in the past year without any provocation."

"Can you blame us for being desperate Agent Fowler?" Megatron reasoned "Our quarrel is with the treacherous Autobots who destroyed the only hope of restoring Cybetron." Megatron assured. "Seeing as we no longer have a home, I merely wish to peacefully coexist once the Autobot war criminals are dealt with."

Fowler sighed. "Well you'll be happy to know that the military has no plans to take further action. For the moment, anyway."

"I appreciate their understanding." Megatron thanked. "You have my solemn word that this will all be over once the Autobots are dealt with. Megatron out."

"Yeah, and I'm part of a team who fights ghosts for a living." Fowler quipped after he hung up.

"Excellent my Lord." Starscream patronized. "I almost believed you."

"Indeed Starscream. Once the Autobots are no more, we will be the undisputed masters of this world.

Shockwave approached the two with an urgent request. "Given the likelihood of an attack on this facility, I request permission to relocate Project Predacon to a more secure location."

"Very well Shockwave." Megatron approved. "One of the abandoned Energon mines should do."

Shockwave nodded his head. "Very good my liege."

A Vehicon sounded off over the comm. "Lord Megatron, five ground bridges detected across the country. Origin unknown."

"Starscream." Megatron began. "Deploy two squadrons to each location."

Starscream bowed and did as he was told. Seekers poured off the flight deck and sped off toward their queries.

"Cyclonus, take your ship into orbit, find the source of those bridges and destroy it." Megatron ordered.

"At once, Lord Megatron." Cyclonus replied as he piloted his strike shuttle into space.

Back aboard the _Enduring Spirit_ Crosswind monitored the situation from the helm console. "Ha. They fell for our little trick." Crosswind mused to himself.

"How are the Autobots doing?" Jack wondered.

"All teams are on course and on schedule so far." The recon officer replied. He must have sensed the children's concern. "Look, I know you're worried, but those are some of our best bots down there. I calculate an 82 percent chance of victory."

"Well that's a B at least." Miko quipped.

Ratchet and Wheeljack walked onto the bridge just then. "So, we just gonna watch everyone else risk their aft ends?" Wheeljack asked.

"This ship is our most important asset. We can't afford to lose it." Crosswind argued. "But if you feel so strongly about it you can take the weapons station."

Wheeljack approached the console and marveled at the array of destructive toys. "Oooh. Concussion missiles, shock cannons, orbital strike beams… I think I'm in love." He said as he rubbed his hands together.

"Anything I can do?" Ratchet asked.

"You feel comfortable monitoring the engineering console?" Crosswind offered.

"Absolutely." Ratchet replied.

Crosswind turned back to his own monitor. "Looks like Silverbolt's team is almost in position."

 **Meanwhile…**

Six Autobot jets raced toward Darkmount at low altitude to avoid detection. "Remember, our job is to tie up the Con's air forces and keep attention away from the others." Silverbolt reminded.

"Yeah, yeah." Slingshot groaned. "Let's just skip to the part where we blow something up."

"Slingshot's right. This has been a long time coming." Air Raid agreed.

"Seriously Silverbolt, how do you have the patience for this?" Jetfire asked.

Fireflight chuckled. "Eons of practice as our leader."

"Cut the chatter everyone, we're approaching the target. Arm weapons and follow my lead." Silverbolt ordered.

As the Aerialbots neared the Decepticon fortress they popped up and locked weapons on target. This maneuver revealed themselves to the enemy, but that was to be expected. "Fire!" Silverbolt commanded. Missiles, Energon Blasts, and bombs pelted Darkmount in a hail of destructive power. The first pass did little damage, but did succeed in kicking the hornet's nest as it were.

"Lord Megatron! We're under air attack!" a panicked Vehicon yelled.

On any other day Megatron would have blasted that fool for stating the obvious, but he decided against it today. The Decepticons were going to need every bot they had for this one.

"Launch all remaining Seekers! Stunticons get out there and deal with the Aerialbots!" Megatron bellowed.

The Stunticons sat idiling on the ground when that order was given. "Round two boys, let's go!" Motormaster ordered. "I hope it's more of a challenge than last time." Dragstrip said as he peeled out with his team. "Of course it'll be a challenge." Wild Rider replied. "It is the Aerialbots after all."

Skydive saw the Decepticon combiner team driving out of the fortress in a delta formation. "Hey Silverbolt, you're not gonna believe this. It's the Stunticons!"

The Aerialbot leader could hardly believe his optics, but stayed focused on the mission. "They're trying to lure us to ground. Beside's there's still those warships to worry about." Silverbolt surmised. "Let's thin out these Seekers first."

"Whatever." Slingshot replied. "I'm just happy to have something to shoot."

The Aerialbots swung around to face the incoming Seeker squadrons head on. A flurry of missiles and laser blasts erupted from both elements tracing contrails across the sky. The more skilled Autobot fliers evaded the Seekers' fire, but the Decepticons were not so fortunate. Half of the thirty Vehicon jets were shot down while the Aerialbots sustained only minor hits if any.

"Alright, let's go for another pass." Silverbolt ordered. "Right behind ya!" Jetfire acknowledged. As the Aerialbots set up for their next attack, Motormaster reached the end of his patience- not that he had much to begin with.

"Alright ya sorry sacks a rust! Commence combination sequence!" the Stunticon leader commanded. Dragstrip and Dead End drove in front of and on either side of Motormaster while Off Road and Wild Rider drove behind him.

Built in rockets pushed the Stunticons into the air as they took their respective combiner component forms. The limbs all merged with the torso and the metal colossus impacted the ground with a thunderous crash. He flexed his arms and looked skyward as he announced his presence: "MENASOR!"

The great goliath drew a giant rifle from his back and fired at the Aerialbots. Energon blasts singed past them as they bobbed and weaved through the air.

"We've almost got the Seekers under wraps." Silverbolt reported. "Jetfire, you mop up the rest. We'll take Menasor."

"You got it boss!" Jetfire exclaimed. He locked on to about twenty seekers at once and fired a few missiles. Upon approaching their targets, these missiles split into five independent warheads and hit their marks.

"Okay guys, Jetfire's got us covered." Sliverbolt observed. "Form Superion!" The Aerialbots flew in perfect formation and began to take their gestalt forms. Air Raid and Fireflight hit the ground first in their leg modes. Silverbolt's torso form docked to the legs next. Slingshot and Skydive docked to the shoulders forming the arms. The combined form's eyes lit up with a brilliant blue color. Finally, the Autobot combiner drew a shield and a giant rifle from his back.

"SUPERION ACTIVATED." The metal colossus announced.

Menasor replied with a guttural and furious roar as he opened fire on Superion. The Autobot gestalt blocked the shots with his shield as he charged at Menasor, footfalls shaking the ground like miniature earthquakes. Superion closed the distance, smacked Menasor's gun to the side and delivered a right hook into his horned head.

As Menasor absorbed the hit, he grabbed Superion's right arm (Slingshot) and hauled the Autobot gestalt over his head and onto the ground with a crash of metal and rock.

"RAAAUUGGHH!" Menasor roared into Superion's face. Superion ignited Slingshot's engines to deliver a painful blast of heat causing Menasor to push him away.

Superion rose once more and charged at Menasor. The two clashed with locked arms with Menasor still growling like a rabid animal and Superion maintaining his composure.

As Jetfire downed another Seeker with his cannon, he swooped around and caught a brief glimpse of the fight below. _I hope the other teams are okay…_

Jenny, Brad, and Sheldon took advantage of the chaos to silently land on the hull of the Nemesis. From there the trio found a hatch and entered the enemy vessel. "Okay, if I remember the layout of this thing correctly, Optimus should be this way." Jenny said. "Lead the way Jen." Brad replied.

The three eventually found door marked as the brig along with two Vehicons standing watch. "Well this is it." Jenny observed. "Now we just need to get those guys away from the door."

Brad stepped forward. "I got this." He fired a pair of missiles at the guards. They struck the Vehicons with blistering speed and delivered a surge of energy that scrambled their circuits and caused them to collapse on the floor.

"Sheldon, get the door open." Jenny ordered.

The Silver Shell stepped forward and cracked his fingers. He then began typing on the console next to the door. After a few seconds, the door opened and the three walked inside carrying the limp Decepticons.

As the door closed behind them, the trio got their first look at Optimus in his current state. Brad and Sheldon held their tongues as they waited for Jenny's response. She could barely conatain her mixture of rage and despair. "Optimus…" she gasped.

The Autobot leader began to stir and groan. "Jenny… is that … really you?"

The girl nodded her head. "It's been a while."

"You came back… for us…" Optimus observed. "Why put yourself through this… again?"

Jenny chuckled slightly. "Because you and the Autobots risked everything to save my life." Jenny answered. "Now it's time for me to return the favor."

"Yeah. There's more than just us too." Sheldon added.

Brad nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Even Elita One and the bots you sent to Terax are here." He explained.

"Then there… is hope…" Optimus realized. "I take it… these are your… friends."

"Well, Brad's my boyfriend now, but that's a story for another time." Jenny explained. She activated her comm and contacted Elita One. "We've found Optimus."

Elita received the transmission from her excavator. "Good work. Hold your position and keep that room secure."

The femme turned to Ironhide who was driving the excavator. "Status report." She requested.

"The fortress will be right on top of us in five minutes. The Aerialbots should have the Seekers busy right now too." Ironhide reported.

"Good," Elita said. She, Firestar,Moonracer, and Ironhide rode in one excavator while Prowl, Hound, Sideswipe and Jazz rode in another. The two mining vehicles switched positioned themselves vertically once they were under Darkmount.

"Alight everyone listen up." Elita announced. "Were going to break in at high speed so hold on to something." The Autobots braced themselves and prepared for breaching. "Now Ironhide!" Elita ordered. The two excavators throttled to full power and rapidly ascended toward the Decepticon fortress…

Unit S73V3 and Unit 6A44Y patrolled one of Darkmount's sublevel hallways for any signs of intruders. The two Vehicons had blasters at the ready just in case their patrol became a firefight. "I wish we were outside sending Autobots to the scrapheap." S73V3 complained. 6A44Y shook his head. "You heard Lord Megatron's orders. It's our job to make sure that the Autobots don't sneak in here unnoticed."

"I get that," S73V3 replied. "But why send only two of us?" 6A44Y shrugged. "Maybe he only expects a small number. Either way we should stay foc-AAAAGGGHHH!"

Both Vehicons went offline as a giant drill grinded them into tiny pieces. Another drill appeared some distance away. "We're in." Ironhide reported. Just then, more Vehicons appeared in the corridor and started shooting at the two drills. "We've got more company!" Jazz warned. Moonracer took the gunner position in her excavator. "No worries, I've got this!" she boasted. A cannon turret deployed from the top of the excavator and began blasting Vehicons with pinpoint precision.

"All targets down." Moonracer reported. Just then, a large shaking emanated ahead of the two excavators. An Insecticon rounded the corner and broke into a run as it saw its enemies. "I've got this one!" Ironhide assured. He spun the drill up and sped toward the Insecticon at full throttle. The drill bit landed squarely on the beast's chest and drove straight through its spark. The Insecticon's remains clattered into pieces around the drill.

"Nothing else on the scanners for now," Prowl began. "I think it's safe to get out." The Autobots disembarked and split into two groups. Elita, Moonracer, Firestar, and Ironhide made for the command post at the top of the citadel while Jazz, Prowl, Sideswipe, and Hound stayed behind to investigate the lower levels and keep the Con's forces split. "Good luck everyone." Elita said.

 **Meanwhile…**

"Okay, sensor configuration test twenty-two commencing now." Knockout announced. He had spent days trying to tune the sensor array aboard the _Nemesis_ to Jenny's unique power signature. As evidenced by the number of tests, the task was proving difficult and frustrating.

Knockout keyed in the sequence to activate the sensor array. In the center of the room lie a facsimile of Jenny's power source that Knockout used to test the sensor configuration. After twenty-two failures, twenty-two processor grinding disappointments, Knockout finally hit pay dirt. But still, something didn't seem right.

Knockout contacted his master anyway. "Lord Megatron, I think I've succeeded, but there's something strange."

"What is it?" Megatron wondered.

"Though I am picking up the facsimile's signature, I'm also detecting three more just like it." The Decepticon medic explained. Megatron's optics widened. "Then XJ9 is here!" Megatron realized. "What is her location?"

Knockout paused. "… Inside the Nemesis. Specifically, the medical bay where Optimus Prime is being held."

Megatron found himself between astonishment and actual admiration. "My, Lord. Shall I sound the alarm?" Knockout asked.

"No Knockout." Megatron replied. "Let's allow our enemies to think they still have surprise. However, cut off Prime's spark support to prevent a successful rescue."

Knockout grinned from audio receptor to audio receptor. "At once my liege."

 **Meanwhile…**

"So, how long do you think until they catch on?" Brad wondered. His comment was met with shrugs. Suddenly, Jenny noticed that the Energon tubes feeding Prime's spark had just shut down. "No…" she gasped.

"What's wrong?" Sheldon wondered.

"Megatron just pulled the plug!" Jenny cried. "Quick, hack into their system! Get those pumps going again or Optimus won't have much time!"

Sheldon hurried to the nearest console and began typing furiously. "I'm locked out!" he exclaimed.

"Jenny…" Optimus groaned.

The heroine rushed to his side. "No don't talk. Don't move. Save your strength." Something dawned on her. "The Forge of Solus Prime! It can fix anything or anyone Cybertronian."

With effort Optimus shook his head. "…no…time…" he managed between breaths. As if to punctuate his words his systems could be heard shutting down. "…there will… be a new… Prime…" Optimus said. "The Matrix… take it … to Elita One…"

Tears started streaming down Jenny's face. "No… I'm not going to let you die! Not after you saved my life!"

"You… have… done well…" Optimus praised. "all… of … you…"

"Sheldon…" Brad urged.

"Working as fast as I can here!" the boy shot back.

Jenny met Optimus Prime's gaze. "Please…" she sobbed. "We can't lose you. Not like this."

"Who stands before me?" Optimus asked in a voice not his own.

"What are talking about?" Jenny wondered as she was taken aback. "It's me, Jenny."

Optimus's optics flickered before going dark entirely.

"Optimus…" Jenny whimpered. "OPTIMUS!"

The Prime's chest suddenly opened to reveal the Matrix of Leadership. The golden handled vessel contained a glowing orb: a piece of Primus's own spark. The glow became brighter and brighter until it became blinding. "Get out of here!" Jenny yelled. She reached for the Matrix hoping that she could still do something to save Optimus.

"JENNY!" Brad and Sheldon yelled as everything went white.

The brightness receded as Jenny came too, though she had no idea if she was still in the medical bay. She stood up from the floor and came face to face with someone she'd never thought she would meet.

"Jennifer Marie Wakeman." The voiced boomed from all directions. "At last we meet."

Jenny stared wide eyed at the being before her, barley able to comprehend her situation for she was in the presence of Cybertron's patron deity. "Primus." she said at last.

 **A/N:** I realize I should have said this sooner, but the Enduring Spirit looks like the Autobot Shuttle that Ultra Magnus commands in the 1986 movie. Remember that for later…


End file.
